Purpose:
The project ‘Cartografía de Conocimientos’ (Knowledge Cartography) was born in 2012 aimed at approaching health and education from an intercultural perspective. It is a project that works for social transformation based on equitable intercultural coexistence. The fields of action are health, education and community, fundamental sectors for personal and collective well-being.
The project promotes a change of outlook and action in health, educational and social service professionals through research-action, reflection on the persistence of racism and the discrimination it generates, and by accompanying community participation processes.
The project is implemented by CEA (Centre of African Studies) through a collaboration between a wide variety of agents, including the Barcelona City Council, the Public Health Agency of Barcelona and the Regional Government.
Stimulus/Rationale:
The city of Barcelona has committed to promote equality as a fundamental right in the field of health. To strengthen the intercultural society, local dynamics and institutions need to be enriched and nurtured by contributions which are already present thanks to the people with a migrant background living in Catalonia.
It is essential to generate spaces for dialogue and debate, for mutual knowledge and reflection, understanding and recognition of the "other". This is a proactive defence of the rights of equality among all citizens, regardless of their origin.
Process:
In 2016 the project started focusing on Interculturality and Health. A collaboration with various agents of the Public Health System and Administration services was established together with a specific training to move towards an intercultural approach within the Public Health.
The services offered are structured in four phases.
- Qualitative research (interviews, focus groups) with people and organisations from diverse cultural communities with the aim to gather knowledge and mapping the challenges faced by the community. Some relevant studies carried out included: Metabolic diseases in the Pakistani community; Metabolic diseases in the Moroccan community, Mental Health and discomfort in people from Black Africa, Gender Antigypsyism and emotional health of Kalis.
- Capacity building targeted to Public Health personnel. Participants in the workshops usually take part in a needs assessment before attending the trainings. Training covers several topics such as mental / emotional health; mental health and immigration; and body health and female reproductive health, among others.
- Awareness raising through toolkits and campaigns. Informative and educational materials are elaborated as a result of the previous phases, including dossiers and audio-visual tools. The materials are distributed among the participants of the training and published on the project website.
- Social intervention to contribute to the development of an intercultural health model. As a result of the fieldwork carried out with the communities, specific intervention needs arise both from the communities and health professionals.
Impact:
The implementation of Intercultural Community Health Plans. Thanks to the Intercultural Community Health Workshops, carried out by health staff from Health Care Centres and organisations from the neighbourhood's associative fabric, annual plans are designed and implemented according to the community needs.
Interaction and participation of people from diverse backgrounds takes place within the project at different stages: Catalan professionals, Roma professionals, and professionals with a migration background.
In addition, different levels of the administration are involved, including the regional and local level.
Each research, training and community intervention process was evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. Attendance figures and qualitative evaluations are published in the annual reports (See key reference documents).
Key reference documents:
