IQS-URL and Esade-URL publish “Perspectives on Aporophobia”

A multidisciplinary look at aporophobia

The publication was presented on 15 September at an event held at Esade Barcelona, organised jointly with IQS. The event brought together representatives from academia and social organisations to reflect on the challenges involved in combating aporophobia and to discuss some of the issues covered in the booklet.

The session featured contributions from Ignasi Martí, Director of Esade’s Institute for Social Innovation and Observatory for Decent Housing, and Valeri Ruiz, Head of the Collaborations and Alliances for Social Impact Area at the “la Caixa” Foundation.

This was followed by a round-table discussion involving Eduard Sala, Director of Càritas Diocesana de Barcelona, Beatriz Fernández, Director of Arrels Fundació, and Albert Sales, Coordinator of the Social Rights and Public Policy Area at Institut Metròpoli, moderated by Rafael Ruíz, Deputy Director General of Fundació Pere Tarrés. The discussion addressed the challenges faced by social organisations in supporting people in vulnerable situations and the need to continue raising awareness of the social consequences of the stigma associated with poverty. The event concluded with a speech by Flavio Comim, Dean of IQS School of Management.

The presentation of Perspectives on Aporophobia also served to announce the upcoming fourth edition of the International Conference on Aporophobia, which IQS will organise on 22 and 23 October 2026. The event will once again bring together researchers, academics and representatives of social organisations from various countries to further the study of discrimination against people living in poverty and work towards responses that help combat it.