Homelessness, social inclusion and ecofeminism among the themes of the new projects at Palau Macaya
The Palau Macaya of the ”la Caixa” Foundation has just announced the results of the latest call for reflection projects, which aims to support initiatives and projects for debate and the exchange of ideas around the centre's own thematic areas, to be developed over the next year at its facilities.
In this regard, 12 projects have been selected, each with a maximum grant of €15,000. The new reflection projects will be developed at the centre during the 2025-2026 academic year, in collaboration with the following entities: ECAS, Catalan Social Action Entities; THEAD System; FEDAIA, Federation of Entities for the Care and Education of Children and Adolescents; Plàudite Teatre-Espai d'Arts Escèniques; Fundació Centre Obert Heura Gràcia; Associació EDAI Persona i Entorn Social; Fundació Support-Girona; Associación Ça marche; Fundación Universitaria Balmes; Cromosomos X; Asociación Catalana de Mujeres Directivas y Empresarias; and the Fundación por la Investigación y la Docencia del Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron.
In this way, the different entities will bring to the table some of the debates that are most present in our society. During the new academic year, the main topics at the centre will revolve around the preservation of young people's rights; care for people with disabilities; the visibility of migrant women; menstruation as a political tool; ecofeminism and gynaecological-obstetric violence; artificial intelligence; the situation of homeless people from an inclusive perspective; and neurodiversity, among others.
The call for proposals was launched last May and is aimed at associations, foundations and non-profit organisations; social enterprises and cooperatives in the social sector; universities, research centres and public administrations. This year, 98 organisations have submitted proposals, and the ”la Caixa” Foundation will allocate a total of €167,623 to the call.
The Palau Macaya methodology
All in all, the aim is simply to ‘raise the profile of projects involving reflection, debate and the exchange of ideas that form part of one of the areas covered by the centre: social issues, climate change and health, humanities and economics’, as argued by Josep Ollé, director of the Palau Macaya, who adds: ‘following the framework methodology applied by the centre in its projects’.
Thus, the selected projects must promote a global horizon of thought, based on a broad geographical framework and an integrative historical perspective; incorporate a forward-looking approach and propose innovative models with an eye to the future; contribute humanistic and democratic values, promoting a world that manages its conflicts and a more equitable society.
The projects must also provide a holistic point of view that allows academic and sectoral barriers to be overcome, promoting cooperation and networking. Furthermore, the proposals must apply participatory methodologies that allow all the actors involved to be identified, involved and empowered.
Selected projects
- Reflection cycle on inequalities and diversity of origin in Catalan society - ECAS, Associació d'Entitats Catalanes d'Acció Social: the project addresses one of the main social challenges in Catalonia: the inclusion and full citizenship of people of diverse origins, ethnicities and cultures other than Catalan, ensuring equitable levels of social and economic well-being and, therefore, guaranteeing good social cohesion.
- My digital right: building accessible futures: THEAD System: this is an initiative for reflection, co-creation and advocacy that aims to help guarantee the right of all students, especially those with disabilities, to access inclusive digital education on equal terms, in an increasingly digitised educational context geared towards STEAM skills.
- Guaranteeing rights, protecting the future - FEDAIA, Federation of Child and Adolescent Care and Education Entities: the overall objective of the project is to highlight violations of the rights of children and adolescents in Catalonia, emphasising the effective guarantee of social rights in key areas through a collective, participatory and transformative process. The ultimate goal is to generate concrete proposals for social and political impact, from a human rights, social justice and equity perspective, that contribute to protecting the future of children and adolescents in the region.
- Women and the land, territories of combat - Plàudite Teatre-Espai d'Arts Escèniques: this cycle arises in response to an urgent social challenge: the invisibility and exclusion of migrant women, especially those who are not part of organised civil society, from spaces of participation, expression and decision-making.
- Dignity in the open air: To be or not to be – Nothing or everything - Fundació Centre Obert Heura Gràcia: This is an initiative of collective thinking and action aimed at addressing the social and economic challenge of homelessness from an ethical, inclusive and transformative perspective.
- Building bridges between diverse minds and perspectives - Associació EDAI Persona i Entorn Social: This is a social project that aims to generate mutual understanding and bonds between neurodivergent and neurotypical people through a collective process of reflection, expression and co-creation.
- DIALOC: Developing local initiatives and actions for people with disabilities - Fundació Support-Girona: this cycle addresses the urgent challenge of transforming the model of care for people with disabilities and older people in Catalonia, moving beyond the welfare-based and sectoral approach that limits the effective exercise of their human rights.
- Towards an accessible stage - Ça marche Association: this project falls within the social sphere and stems from the need to rethink the mechanisms of accessibility to culture, incorporating the perspective of the deaf community as an active agent rather than a passive user.
- Motherhood in resistance: weaving a collective response to the crisis of social reproduction - Balmes University Foundation: this project arises from the need to open up a space for interdisciplinary and intersectoral reflection on motherhood as a concrete expression of the structural crisis between capital and life.
- Bodies that make people uncomfortable: new narratives around menstrual justice and ecofeminism - Cromosomos X: this cycle proposes to address menstruation not as a neutral biological phenomenon, but as a field of political, social and cultural dispute, traversed by gender, class, race, disability, territory and the economic system.
- From suffrage to AI: we continue to fight for real equality. What kind of feminism do we need for the future? - Catalan Association of Women Directors and Entrepreneurs: the project is framed within the social sphere, as it reflects on the role of feminism in the transformation of our societies. The challenge it seeks to address is how to project and strengthen a feminism capable of confronting the new social, economic and technological resistances that perpetuate gender inequalities.
- From silence to action: restorative justice in the face of gynaecological-obstetric violence (SANA-VGO) – Vall d'Hebron University Hospital Foundation for Research and Teaching: a series that aims to reflect on gynaecological-obstetric violence (VGO) as an expression of sexist violence, normalised even in spaces where care and respect should prevail. From a restorative justice perspective, it promotes a profound transformation of the current punitive model and is committed to education in school contexts, fostering a culture of care, respect and consent from an early age.