More than 300 participants, ranging from high school students to members of the University’s Senior Programme, took an in-depth look at failure as an opportunity for success through seven lectures and four workshops over two full days. The conference was organized entirely by third-year Economics students in the Leadership and Governance Programme as part of the Integrated Project subject.

In the section on economics, a round-table discussion featuring Javier Vallés, the former head of the Spanish government’s Economics Office, Santiago Fernández de Lis, Head of Financial Systems at BBVA Research, and Álvaro Lodares, an economist and author of six books, including the most recent, De la nueva política, addressed “The Failure of Economic Models”, including topics such as the management of the financial crisis, the most frequent obstacles in employment and the possibility of building an alternative economic order through strong institutional leadership. Fernández de Lis said that recessions do not always represent a failure of the economy. Lodares favoured an optimistic view of the economic future. He said, “It’s important to remember that today’s world is improving. It’s time to leave pessimism behind”. Vallés pointed out that the current crisis, from which “we have not completely recovered”, will make us stronger when it comes to facing future challenges. As part of this section, Alberto Andreu, a consultant and expert in corporate social responsibility, sustainability, brands and corporate culture, gave the lecture “Failure in Employment”. He spoke about his own failures and life lessons, and offered some advice, such as respecting one’s own principles and developing empathy.

In the section on society, Raúl Santiago, an expert in education systems and a lecturer in Didactics and School Organization at the Universidad de La Rioja, gave the lecture “The Failure of the Educational Model”, in which he discussed the failures of illustrious people such as Newton and Edison, the Finnish educational model and the practices of efficient schools, such as designing a flexible curriculum and keeping in close communication with students’ families. Cartoonist, illustrator and scenographer Jaime Buhigas explored concepts such as chaos, destruction, art and beauty in the workshop “The Mythology of Failure or the Art of Disappointment”. In the lecture “The Failure of Personal Relations”, Alfredo Cruz, a professor who holds a PhD from the University of Navarra, warned about the “romantic self” we are immersed in by the virtual world and encouraged audience members to reach out and define who they are and what they are like so they can learn to establish stable personal relationships. Eduardo Jiménez, the Manager of the Varazdin Foundation, gave the lecture “Failure in the Crisis”, in which he discussed the importance of fighting against social exclusion: “Companies are beginning to become aware of the responsibility they have to their surroundings”, he said. “Society’s awareness of the need is the key to providing real help”.

In the section on happiness, Carlos Centeno, the Director of the Palliative Medicine Unit at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra, gave the lecture “Managing Happiness in Terminal Situations”, in which he addressed his latest ‘failure’: the death of one of his patients from lung cancer. “My way of managing the situation is not for me to learn on my own, but for everyone to learn with me”. Philosopher Ricardo Piñero and lecturer Belén Torregrosa gave the lectures “Life Goes On. Don’t Miss It” and “The Flowers of Time: In Search of a Realized Life”, respectively, which included their own reflections on vitality and personal priorities. “Sometimes time shows us that what was a failure at a specific moment was actually not a failure”, said Torregrosa, who encouraged the audience to “give life time” and to “use glue” to turn failures into successes: “Sometimes the worst thing that happens is you start doing something exciting”.

Workshops were also held during the two-day event for students in Pamplona schools such as San Cernin and Miravalles-El Redin, university students and people enrolled in the Senior Programme. The participants shared their views on life, personal problems and general failures in an intergenerational event with a constructive atmosphere.

To open and close the conference, two speakers were invited to share their personal stories. Jaime Garrastazu,a founding member of Pompeii, gave the lecture “Pompeii: No Success without Failure” and Nicolás Eguibar spoke about “Getting up After an Accident”. Garrastazu told about his experience as a promoter of the Pompeii brand of shoes. He also encouraged the audience to overcome the fear of failure and embrace entrepreneurship as “a living attitude”. Nico Eguibar shared his own struggle after a motorcycle accident that caused severe brain injuries. He encouraged the students to take advantage of the present moment and be grateful for the opportunities life presents: “Life tripped me up so I could go slower and get the most out of each second of joy and happiness”.

A lo largo de las dos jornadas también se realizaron diversos workshops, en los que tanto alumnos de colegios de Pamplona como San Cernin o Miravalles-El Redin, estudiantes de la Universidad y personas adscritas al programa Senior compartieron sus visiones sobre la vida, los problemas personales y los fracasos más genéricos en un ambiente constructivo en un encuentro intergeneracional.

Como broche de inicio y final, el Congreso contó con los testimonios de Jaime Garrastazu, socio fundador de Pompeii en la conferencia “Pompeii: no hay éxito sin fracaso” y Nicolás Eguibarcon "Levantarse después de un accidente". Garrastazu relató su experiencia como impulsor de la marca de zapatillas Pompeii. Asimismo, animó a perder el miedo al fracaso y a desarrollar el emprendimiento como “una actitud vital”. Por su parte, Eguibar compartió su propia historia de superación tras sufrir un accidente de moto que le causó graves lesiones en el cerebro. ‘Nico’ animó a  los alumnos a aprovechar el instante presente y agradecer las oportunidades que la vida le presenta: "La vida me puso la zancadilla para que pudiese ir más despacio y poder exprimir cada segundo de alegría y de felicidad".

 

Galería de fotos del congreso