The third iteration of “Infancy, sickness, and death in an educational setting” gathers 180 people in Sant Pau.
Organized by the Villavecchia Foundation, the event offered tools and reflections for the emotional support of students with grave illnesses.
The Recinto Modernista in Sant Pau has hosted a new edition of the event “Infancia, enfermedad, y muerte en el ámbito educativo” (“Infancy, sickness, and death in an educational setting”), which this year saw a fully registered turnout, gathering up to 180 attendees.
The event, which this year was free to attend, has counted with the participation of experts like the family therapist specialist alongside Àngels Ponce, who has talked about “Cuidarnos para acompañar: herramientas de autocuidado ante la perdida” (“Caring for ourselves to care for them: self-care tools during loss”), offering practical resources and reflections as tools that will help us take care of ourselves and show up for others through presence and being. The artist specializing in oral narrative Martha Escudero shared with us the Stories of the Catrina, alongside Mexican folklore with Death and grief as protagonists.
An opening welcome of the event by Dr. Núria Pardo
Additionally, workshops were also hosted. The psycho-oncologist Ana B. Bautista, specialized in pediatric palliative care, led the workshop “Once upon a time… Death. Dealing with loss through children’s literature”, a review of various stories that talk about death and grief, helping us reflect on concepts like the passing of time and the concept of finiteness.
Social and cultural doctor in Anthropology Anna Juan Cantavella, professor of didactic literature at UAB, led the workshop “Questions about life and death. Prompts to start a conversation with children about death through curiosity." and talked about the questions that children ask us about sickness and death, and the answers that often leave them more confused.
Storytelling workshop with psycho-oncologist Ana B. Bautista
The event was moderated for another year by Asha Miro and counted with the participation of Susana Tarapiella, general director of Inclusive Education from the Generalitat de Catalunya, as well as Dr. Nuria Pardo, president of the Villavecchia Foundation. One of the most memorable moments of the event was the recognition by Residea to the schools that have collaborated with the Villavecchia Foundation. This third edition of this event has been included in the program of the festival “Vida al final de la Vida” (“Life in the final moments of Life”), and has also collaborated with Librería Casa Anita, specialized in children and juvenile literature, with a stand offering storybooks.
Sickness and death are realities that every child will be eventually exposed to in life. Because of this, including said realities in their formative years of childhood is granting them the natural space that they take in our lives. The event, which next year will celebrate its 4th edition, wants to supply educators and interested people the tools to explore and facilitate the emotional support to students with grave illnesses and the rest of the classroom, accommodating the education of children with grave illnesses, growing a sensibility about grave illnesses in children and their implications, introducing the conscience about mortality, and fostering a spirt of solidarity among the classroom. Additionally, the sensibility and normalization of death in an educational setting is also worked on.