Read to cure cancer: Girem Full, Tatiana Sisquella award

BarcelonaOlga Federico, the bookseller at La Impossible bookstore, received devastating news in 2019: a diagnosis of very aggressive breast cancer. "They told me I would be going to the hospital many times. At first, you don't believe it, but it's true. And while I was there, I saw with great admiration all the patients' eagerness to collaborate in research," Federico explains. Once recovered from treatment, everything she had experienced continued to resonate with her, until she decided to take action and find a way to promote medical research. "Bookstores have a great capacity for mobilization. I spoke with the bookseller at Documenta, Èric del Arco, and then with my oncologist, Maria Vidal, and we quickly began to gather support," Federico recalls. That aspiration materialized in Girem Full, a solidarity initiative that combines reading with fundraising for cancer research, promoted by the Booksellers' Guild, the Hospital Clínic, and the Collserola Foundation. Awarded the Tatiana Sisquella Prize by ARA, Girem Full's latest edition saw the participation of some sixty bookstores and a hundred schools throughout Catalonia.

The initiative works simply. Between March 21 and April 23, readers find special bookmarks in bookstores where they write a review of a book they have recently read. For each bookmark, Girem Full's sponsors contribute 20 euros, which is equivalent to 10 minutes of research in the Clínic laboratories. "It's a multifaceted project, encompassing science and culture, but also inclusion, because everyone can participate, and social transformation, with the aim of instilling the value of solidarity into society," explains Núria Vilamajó, head of sponsorship at Hospital Clínic. In this regard, schools play a fundamental role. "We work with them to promote reading and literacy skills, but they also help us drive research and foster solidarity. Everyone benefits," says Vilamajó, who proudly adds that Girem Full has readers "between four and 99 years old" and that "63% are under 15." In its first edition, Girem Full raised €120,000 with more than 6,000 reviews, which funded 1,000 hours of research. In the second edition, held this year, they doubled the figure: €240,000, more than 15,000 reviews, and over 2,000 hours of research. Their goal for the next edition is to continue growing and reach more bookstores and more readers in order to increase the funds allocated to medical research.

Now all their efforts are also being recognized with the Tatiana Sisquella Award, which they receive with gratitude and emotion. "Cancer is about trust, resilience, and fighting. But without treatment, it's an impossible fight, and that must change," Federico asserts.