• The Congress Hall reached full capacity today to enjoy the insights of leading speakers such as Elsa Punset, Rafael Santandreu, and Futurlife21.
• Mental health, inner dialogue, and the balance between work and family life were discussed as fundamental pillars for achieving personal wellbeing.

ExpoBienestar celebrated its main day today, with the Congress Hall packed to capacity to listen to the speakers of this ninth edition. The event reaffirmed its role as an unmissable date in Gran Canaria’s calendar, gathering nearly 800 attendees over two days of workshops and lectures.

Actress and presenter Yaiza Guimaré, host of today’s sessions, introduced Rafael Santandreu to open the day with one of the most pressing issues in overall wellbeing: mental health.
The renowned psychologist, bestselling author of The Art of Not Making Your Life Miserable and a key figure in psychology applied to personal growth, opened the session by speaking of “the personal factor that equips our mind and gives us a special character that allows us to be happy and feel fulfilled in any job.”

Santandreu offered key tools to transform adversity into wellbeing through inner dialogue: “Adversity happens to everyone, but through inner dialogue, it affects you less each time.” He urged participants to “never terribilize”—that is, to avoid the tendency to label any adversity as terrible, which undermines emotional resilience. He also stressed the importance of “needing little, because needing a lot makes us weaker, while needing less makes us stronger—it’s a mental matter.”

Finally, he encouraged attendees to “make the most of the opportunities that life gives us, which are always infinite.” “Opportunities are everywhere, but you have to know how to seize them,” he added.

Next came César Martín, president of the National Commission for the Rationalization of Spanish Working Hours (ARHOE) and corporate consultant, who explained how business organizations often hinder not only family conciliation but also happiness itself. To achieve real balance, Martín highlighted the need for companies to change their corporate culture and integrate conciliation into their strategies, among other aspects.
“In Spain, we’ve gone from the expectation of working less to a poverty of time,” he stated, reminding the audience that “time is our most valuable resource. Let’s give it the value it deserves.”

One of the highlights of the day was the talk by writer and science communicator Elsa Punset, one of the foremost experts in emotional intelligence, who shared her “proposals for living through these extraordinary times.”
“The world is improving, but the pace of change accelerates every decade, to the point that in this century we will assimilate 20,000 years of change,” she explained. In this context, she noted, the new challenges of today include mental health problems, managing artificial intelligence, difficulties in collaboration, and climate change, among others.

“Life is difficult, which is why we need tools that help us carry on,” Punset affirmed. Among those tools is optimism, which she described as “a truly important ability to look to the future, overcome negative bias, and find hope.” She stressed the importance of countering the tendency to conform, to cling to prejudice, or to avoid change. Instead, she proposed balancing stress with recovery, discovering the secret of good relationships based on positive emotions, and remembering that “we are not alone in the world.”

To close her talk, Elsa Punset reminded the audience that “we all have a superpower we rarely use: the ability to give love and strength to others.”

The biochemists and nutritionists behind Futurlife21, Elena Pérez and María Hernández-Alcalá, mother and daughter, gave an engaging talk on how to maximize health by instilling habits that improve quality of life. “We are killing ourselves with bad diets when we could be eating healthy and delicious food,” Elena said, stressing that “real quality of life depends on the habits we adopt now, because nutrition plays a central role in our health.”

Through a tour of the cells and bacteria influenced by nutrients, Elena showed that “the quality of the foods we consume is fundamental for our cells to function and for us to enjoy quality of life.”
Meanwhile, María focused on the immune system: “Bad habits are undermining our immune system,” she warned, before explaining which foods should be staples in every pantry and freezer to maintain a healthy diet and a strong immune system. She also recommended avoiding bringing unhealthy foods into the home and suggested batch cooking as a practical way to ensure nutritious, quick meals throughout the week.

The day concluded with psychologist Marc Masip, specialist in technological addictions and author of Desconect@, who referred to “the heroin of the 21st century”: mobile phones, social media, and video games. Masip outlined the risks of excessive screen use, pointed out the warning signs to look out for, and shared practical guidelines to build a healthier relationship with technology, reduce digital dependence, and move toward true digital wellbeing.

Workshops – September 26

On the first day, ExpoBienestar Canarias hosted several practical workshops on nutrition, exercise, and personal leadership, helping participants incorporate tools into their daily lives for wellbeing both personal and professional.
Nutrition and cancer specialist Stephanie Degner opened with a talk on conscious eating. Coaches Verónica Reyes and Leticia Robaina led a practical session on improving outer image through inner balance. Leadership expert Fayna Betancor guided attendees on using personal leadership as a tool for transformation. Finally, Rubén Rubio, exercise and cancer specialist, and couples coach Beatriz Uche closed the day by encouraging attendees to integrate physical activity into their daily lives and to strengthen emotional bonds in an increasingly demanding work environment.

ExpoBienestar Canarias is promoted and funded by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and organized by Infecar, Feria de Gran Canaria, with the collaboration of CajaSiete and Agapea Bookstore. After eight years as a key date in Gran Canaria’s agenda, ExpoBienestar “has established itself as a space that contributes to the island’s economic and business development, while offering tools and knowledge for professionals to learn how to better balance their lives and manage stress,” explained Natalia Santana, Director General of Infecar, Feria de Gran Canaria.