Transfer

The event, organised by the PROMOBIENESTAR University Chair in collaboration with DIGITAS, features a workshop on unwanted loneliness and how we relate to those around us

On 25 September 2026, the DIGITAS project, led by the University of Jaén in collaboration with the PROMOBIENESTAR University Chair, organised a workshop focusing on mental health in relation to unwanted loneliness, with a particular emphasis on raising awareness of how we interact with others. The event took place during the European Researchers’ Night in Jaén, under the title ‘And you, how are you feeling? Connected or isolated?’. During the event, various activities were organised to encourage participants to reflect on their social relationships, inform them about signs or indicators of potentially toxic relationships in general (partners, friends, family), the use of social media, and the presence or absence of unwanted loneliness.

During the workshop, participants were provided with information on these topics, as well as the opportunity to learn about helpful tools such as DIGITAS, PROCARE and PROCORE from the PROEM Network (https://redproem.es/). The workshop consisted of two short activities: the ‘Wall of Strings’ and a session where participants could share the steps each of them could take to avoid feeling alone. The ‘Wall of Strings’ consisted of a mural where each person had to tie a string to the statement that best reflected their situation: ‘I feel very connected and supported’, ‘I feel that my relationships are superficial’, ‘I have friends, but sometimes I feel lonely’ and ‘I am lonely’. In the next activity, a space was set aside where participants wrote on a sticky note what made them feel less lonely, leaving it on display so that others could read it. Furthermore, as a thank you for sharing their advice, participants were given a piece of advice on the same topic. Similarly, wristbands promoted by the PROMOBIENESTAR University Chair were also handed out, bearing the phrase ‘Find your connection, nurture your bonds’, along with a ‘A Minute for You’ card, which set out a series of questions relating to unwanted loneliness to be answered in private.

The aim of this workshop was to encourage reflection on the relationships we have with others and the loneliness one can feel in the absence of these. Furthermore, throughout the workshop there were numerous informative posters, and the workshop leaders were on hand to strike up conversations with participants, answer any questions they might have, and recommend the support tools available. The workshop took an educational, reflective and positive approach, linking these factors and elements to people’s emotional wellbeing, whilst raising awareness of the concept of unwanted loneliness and how to relate to others in a healthy way.

Over the course of three days, this event addressed young people’s mental health, family relationships and the challenges arising from the use of social media and new technologies

From 20 to 22 July, the University of Jaén held the summer course ‘Digital Environment and Life: What It Gives Us and What It Takes Away’ in La Carolina, an educational programme focusing on the role of digital environments in everyday life and their influence on the emotional wellbeing, personal relationships and mental health of adolescents and young people.

The event formed part of the 26th edition of the University of Jaén’s Territorial Development Courses (Summer Courses) in La Carolina, organised by the university in collaboration with La Carolina Town Council and with the support of Caja Rural de Jaén and the PROMOBIENESTAR Chair.

The course was coordinated by María Villa Carpio Fernández and co-directed by Lourdes Espinosa Fernández, both senior lecturers at the University of Jaén. Over the course of three days, it brought together specialists from various universities, public administrations and social organisations, creating a space for training, reflection and dialogue on the benefits and risks associated with the use of social media, screens and other technologies.

The first day began with an opening lecture delivered by María Villa Carpio Fernández and Lourdes Espinosa Fernández, the course’s academic coordinators. This was followed by a discussion between Jone Martínez Bacaicoa, from the Autonomous University of Madrid, and Sara Suárez Manzano, from the University of Jaén, on the risks and benefits of social media.

The programme continued with a session dedicated to preventive measures and intervention in cases of addiction, led by Pedro Pedrero Lanero, Therapeutic Director of the Proyecto Hombre Jaén Foundation. In the afternoon, Inmaculada Gómez Becerra, a professor at the University of Almería, led a workshop on positive parenting.

LThe second day began with the PROADEMO workshop, led by David Jiménez Vázquez from the University of Jaén, which presented tools designed to promote the health and emotional wellbeing of adolescents and young people in the digital age.

Subsequently, Laura Zafra Palomino and Mireia Servián López, from the University of Jaén, discussed emotional regulation strategies within the framework of PROCARE/PROCORE, aimed at encouraging mindful use of social media and preventing the overuse of screens and other technologies.

This was followed by a round-table discussion featuring experts, including Luis Joaquín García López, professor at the University of Jaén and director of the PROMOBIENESTAR Chair, who outlined to the audience the reality of the emotional problems affecting adolescents and young people. Encarnación Hidalgo Tenorio and Juan Luis Castro Peña, professors at the University of Granada, then addressed hate crimes and hate speech in the digital sphere, exploring their various manifestations and the consequences they may have for young people and their emotional wellbeing. Rubén Pérez Correa, from the State Secretariat of the Ministry of Youth and Children, also took part in the panel discussion, offering the perspective of public policy on promoting the health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people.

The afternoon session was devoted to suicide prevention and was led by Victoria Soto Sanz, a researcher and lecturer at Miguel Hernández University. Her presentation provided an in-depth look at the identification of risk and protective factors, as well as the importance of developing evidence-based prevention strategies.

The third day began with a workshop focusing on the youth mental health literacy resources developed as part of the DIGITAS project. The workshop was led by Lourdes Espinosa Fernández and Nuria Fernández Díaz, from the University of Jaén.

This was followed by a workshop on positive parenting practices in the digital world, led by María Villa Carpio Fernández and María Teresa Cerezo Rusillo, from the University of Jaén. The session addressed the role of families in supporting teenagers and young people in their everyday use of devices, social media and other technological resources.

The course concluded with a discussion entitled ‘Unwanted loneliness in a hyper-connected world’, featuring Elvira Lara Pérez from the Complutense University of Madrid; Natalia Martín María from the Autonomous University of Madrid; and Juan Ignacio Vela Caudevilla from the ONCE Observatory on Unwanted Loneliness.

Over the course of the three days, participants were able to explore issues such as emotional regulation, behavioural addictions, positive parenting, mental health literacy, artificial intelligence, hate crimes and unwanted loneliness.

The summer course provided an opportunity for young people, families, education and health professionals, researchers and public officials to share knowledge, experiences and practical tools. The initiative highlighted the need to promote the mindful use of technology and to support teenagers and young people in building a healthier relationship with digital environments.

The PROMOBIENESTAR Chair participated in the National Conference on Youth Participation in Europe, organized by the Kaebnai association under the supervision of the Spanish National Agency and the Basque Government’s Youth Directorate, held in Hondarribia (Guipúzcoa).

This is a national conference bringing together young people, experts, and youth policy makers who promote youth participation initiatives in Europe, funded through the Erasmus+ program.

The mental health of adolescents and young people has become one of the main social concerns in recent years. In light of this, university research is seeking new tools to prevent and address emotional difficulties from an early age. The PROMOBIENESTAR Chair is working along these lines; it is an initiative launched by the University of Jaén that focuses on young people’s emotional wellbeing.

The project combines research, training and innovation to provide resources aimed at prevention and emotional support for young people. The initiative tackles issues that are increasingly prevalent among adolescents and young people, such as social anxiety, depression, loneliness and the emotional impact of social media use.

In addition to direct intervention, the initiative is committed to creating digital tools and specialised programmes that facilitate access to emotional support and promote the early detection of these difficulties. The combination of technology, research and prevention positions this project as one of the most innovative university initiatives in the field of youth mental health.

On May 7, a working meeting was held with representatives of the Santa María la Real Foundation with the aim of establishing initial institutional contact and identifying possible areas of collaboration regarding the promotion of mental health, emotional well-being, and social innovation aimed at adolescents and young people.

During the meeting, the team from the University of Jaén’s PROMOBIENESTAR Chair presented the objectives, methodology, and main results of its initiatives, which focus on the early prevention of emotional problems and the promotion of psychological well-being through interventions based on scientific evidence. The team also outlined the various projects currently being carried out in collaboration with the Provincial Council of Jaén.

For its part, the Santa María la Real Foundation presented its main areas of focus regarding youth.

The meeting made it possible to identify various areas of common interest, particularly regarding the transfer of scientific knowledge. Both organizations agreed on the importance of strengthening collaboration with the nonprofit sector as a way to generate solutions that address current challenges related to mental health.

Through this meeting, the PROMOBIENESTAR Chair continues to expand its network of strategic contacts with leading national organizations, reinforcing its commitment to institutional cooperation and the search for new opportunities to bring evidence-based preventive programs to a greater number of young people and educational institutions.

The PROMOBIENESTAR Chair team thanks the Santa María la Real Foundation for its hospitality and willingness to engage during this meeting, and is confident that this initial contact will serve as a starting point for future collaborative efforts aimed at promoting mental health and emotional well-being.

On behalf of the management of the PROMOBIENESTAR Chair, Lourdes Espinosa and Luis Joaquín García attended the inaugural meeting of the Working Committee for Strategic Area 8: Jaén – healthy, inclusive and equal for social cohesion and well-being, held on 5 May and organised by the Estrategias Foundation.

This committee is responsible for providing advice on the new strategic planning process for the development of the Jaén 2030 Strategy.

The monitoring committee of the PROMOBIENESTAR Chair – comprising Luis Joaquín García, Lourdes Espinosa, Maria Dolores Ruiz and Celestina Martínez – attended, by invitation, the 2026 Talent Tour, an event with a youth-focused approach, where the 2026 Princess of Girona Art Award was announced. The event was attended by H.M. Queen Letizia. An event marked by talent, highlighting the importance of young people’s emotional wellbeing, and featuring a video showcasing the Wellbeing Workbook, which the PROMOBIENESTAR Chair helped to design. During the event, related meetings took place between members of the Chair and the Educational Projects team of the Princess of Girona Foundation.

Event organised by the PROMOBIENESTAR University Chair, in collaboration with DIGITASweb https://digitasweb.com/. 

On 28 April 2025, an awareness-raising campaign was held focusing on the identification, understanding and prevention of toxic relationships.

The event took place at the entrance to the Library on the Las Lagunillas Campus at the University of Jaén, and was held in the morning. During the event, various activities were carried out to highlight the characteristics of this type of relationship, as well as to promote their detection and prevention. This initiative is accompanied by an awareness-raising programme aimed at the university community and society in general, with the aim of explaining what toxic relationships are, what their main characteristics are, and how they can affect people’s emotional, social and psychological well-being.

During the campaign, participants were provided with information on toxic relationships, as well as the opportunity to learn about the DIGITASweb tool, which was rated as useful and interesting by those who took part. The campaign consisted of two brief activities: the “message traffic light” and an introspection poster.

The “message traffic light” consisted of a three-colour scale accompanied by a series of messages typical of toxic relationships. Green indicated that the person perceived the message as unimportant or routine; yellow referred to cases where the message might lead to a discussion, with the aim of resolving the situation and pointing out that such behaviour was inappropriate; and, finally, red represented messages that the person would not allow themselves to receive or send under any circumstances.

The aim of this activity was to encourage reflection on the normalisation of such messages and their significance, as they all form part of different stages of the cycle of violence. After completing this activity, participants were invited to place a post-it note indicating whether they had ever made comments of this kind or, conversely, had received them. This exercise aimed to raise awareness of experiences that can sometimes go unnoticed or be overlooked.

Finally, all participants received flashcards bearing the message that no level of violence is acceptable, regardless of its intensity.

The initiative was led by Irune Mata and Lidia Ullate, psychology undergraduates on work placements at the University of Jaén, alongside Nuria Fernández, a research initiation fellow at the UJA. Furthermore, the event was organised thanks to Lourdes Espinosa Fernández, director of the DIGITAS project and co-director of the Promobienestar Chair.

DIGITAS, a digital tool for the transfer of content and resources to address social anxiety disorder and other emotional problems in adolescents, is a proof-of-concept project (PDC2021-121882-100), funded by the State Research Agency of the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/) and by the European Union’s “Next-GenerationEU”/PRTR programme.

Following an invitation, the members of the Chair – María Dolores Ruiz, María de la Villa Carpio and Luis Joaquín García – attended in person the meeting organised by the Observatory on Unwanted Solitude. At the event, the Knowledge Alliance was presented and synergies between the represented institutions were assessed. The members of the Chair outlined its objectives, focusing on collaboration between experts and institutions from an interdisciplinary, holistic and cross-sectoral perspective, covering the issue of unwanted loneliness. Actions were shared within the framework of the Chair and the Provincial Council of Jaén regarding unwanted loneliness among young people, following the team’s participation in the Study on Youth and Unwanted Loneliness in Spain, presented in February 2024 and promoted by the ONCE Foundation in collaboration with Ayuda en Acción. The PROMOBIENESTAR Chair expressed its agreement to join the Knowledge Alliance.

Lourdes Espinosa Fernández, senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Jaén and co-director of the PromoBienestar Chair, gave a lecture on 26 March entitled: ‘Mental Health in Young People and in the Workplace’. The lecture was organised by the Economic and Social Council of the province of Jaén (Provincial CES) and forms part of the “Conferen CES” series. The lecture was introduced by the president of the CES Provincial, Manuel Parras Rosa, who noted that mental health is one of the working recommendations addressed by this advisory body in the chapter of its annual report dedicated to healthcare, and that this will enable the body to make “better recommendations in this area”, a task for which “public institutions must rely on knowledge, so we must place greater trust in scientists and researchers”.

For his part, Martín Robles, a member of the CES and secretary for Health and Social Care Services at CC OO in Jaén, who introduced Lourdes Espinosa, emphasised the importance of reflecting on “the emotional and mental health of society as a whole, and specifically that of our young people”.

For more information:
https://www.dipujaen.es/noticias/detalles.html?t=EL+CES+PROVINCIAL+ORGANIZA+UNA+CONFERENCIA+PARA+REFLEXIONAR+SOBRE+EL+ESTADO+EMOCIONAL+Y+DE+SALUD+MENTAL+DE+LA+SOCIEDAD+Y+DE+LOS+J%C3%93VENES&uid=ad73ecc5-29b9-11f1-88e5-005056b0675f

The presentation took place on 20 March at the University of Jaén’s stand; the event was organised by the University’s Vice-Rectorate for Territorial Development and Institutional Relations.

The event began with an opening address and welcome from Mr Alberto del Real Alcalá, Vice-Chancellor for Regional Development and Institutional Relations at the University of Jaén, who emphasised the importance of bringing academic and scientific activities focused on regional development closer to the public, in order to reinforce the institution’s commitment to the province’s development.

The presentation of the Chair began with remarks from Lourdes Espinosa Fernández, a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Jaén (UJA) and co-director of the Chair, and María Dolores Ruiz Sánchez, the Provincial Council’s Councillor for Equality and Youth and a member of the Chair’s Monitoring Committee, who outlined the main activities carried out as part of this initiative. Next, researchers from the University of Jaén, Mireia Servián López and David Jiménez Vázquez, outlined the preventive mental health interventions being carried out under the auspices of the Chair, such as PROCARE and PROCORE. Finally, María de la Villa Carpio Fernández, a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Jaén, focused her presentation on addressing unwanted loneliness, a growing social problem in our time affecting various groups and requiring attention from society.

From 19 to 22 March, the University of Jaén, through the Vice-Rectorate for Territorial Development and Institutional Relations, will take part in the Fair of the Towns of the Province of Jaén, to be held at the Provincial Exhibition and Congress Centre of Jaén (IFEJA), with the aim of bringing its academic and scientific activities focused on territorial development closer to the public, to reinforce its commitment to the province’s development.

During the event, the UJA will have its own stand from which it will showcase various initiatives linked to education, research, knowledge transfer and innovation, giving visitors a representative overview of its teaching and research activities.

From 12.45 pm to 1.30 pm, the UJA’s Promobienestar Chair will present ‘Promoting emotional wellbeing among young people through a preventive, inclusive and sustainable approach’, an initiative aimed at creating a shared space for knowledge generation, training and innovation geared towards promoting the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents and young people. The session will feature, on behalf of the Chair’s management, Lourdes Espinosa Fernández, lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the UJA, and María Dolores Ruiz Sánchez, Councillor for Equality and Youth at the Provincial Council, who will present the main activities carried out within the framework of this initiative. The Chair’s institutional video will also be screened during the presentation.

The programme will continue with a presentation by Mireia Servián López, from the University of Jaén, who will address preventive interventions in mental health, as well as a contribution from María de la Villa Carpio Fernández, a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Jaén, who will focus her presentation on addressing unwanted loneliness, a growing social problem in our time affecting various groups.