The Chair of Emotional Intelligence was created to improve the well-being and quality of life of the Navarrese population
The Caja Navarra Foundation and the associated center of the UNED in Pamplona have created a Chair of Emotional Intelligence with the aim of addressing new social challenges. Emotional intelligence, as explained by the president of the foundation, José Ángel Andrés, “contributes to the well-being of people, and therefore to the well-being of society, above all to prevent and provide resources to confront the problem of mental health.” This project is expected to have a great impact on the personal well-being and quality of life of citizens, improving interpersonal relationships and performance in an increasingly changing society.
The interest in the creation of this chair is based on the social needs detected and the important impact that training, research, and knowledge transfer can have in many areas of the Navarrese population. The current educational systems primarily focus on cognitive or intellectual intelligence, neglecting emotional intelligence. This has led to conflict situations that can be resolved positively with adequate knowledge, regulation, and expression of emotions.
As the director of UNED Pamplona, Teresa Imizcoz, stated, “As a result of the pandemic, we have all been very aware that we do not have enough tools to manage all the problems we have in a world that changes so much and with so much uncertainty.” Therefore, it is considered necessary to train the general population, especially in the educational stage, families, and the work environment.
The Chair of Emotional Intelligence seeks to address mental health problems at all ages, with a specific focus on youth mental health and suicide prevention. Additionally, it aims to offer training opportunities to improve the socio-emotional competencies of teaching professionals, raise awareness among citizens about the convenience of improving their own emotional intelligence, promote emotional education throughout life, disseminate research results, and stimulate basic and applied research on emotional intelligence.