News

On November 29th, Cáritas Coimbra held the final conference of the “ALLright(s) – Direitos para tod@s”, in the Auditorium of the PO.RO.S – Portugal Romano Museum in Sicó, Condeixa-a-Nova. This event, promoted in partnership with the Group of Schools of Condeixa-a-Nova, aimed to promote a meeting between partners and stakeholders, present the work developed and the results achieved.

The opening session included Andrea Campos, from Cáritas Coimbra, who, in addition to welcoming the participants, highlighted that ALLright(s) met the institutional mission of Cáritas Coimbra by being present and intervening in the community. Avelino Santos, President of the Pedagogical Council of the Group of Schools of Condeixa-a-Nova, emphasized the importance of this type of partnership for the Group of Schools, once again referring to the long partnership with Cáritas Coimbra and the project’s positive impact on the educational community. Diogo Figueiredo, representing the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Active Citizens Fund in Portugal, shared his enthusiasm for the ALLright(s) Project’s journey in promoting human rights and active citizenship.

Next, the project team, which included Ana Goreti Oliveira and Vera Pinto, reflected on the work carried out and the results achieved. Since June 2022, 1662 participants have been reached, 70% of whom are pre-school and primary school children. The project has also held training sessions for professionals. It has covered 4 districts and 10 municipalities in the Coimbra Diocese’s area of activity. The team’s intervention ended with an acknowledgement message to all the people who took part in the project and with the following message “education for human rights and citizenship is a process that has to involve different layers of audiences, ages, territories and contexts, with respect for the multiple voices of society”. This first part ended with the participation of Florindo Ramos, from Skillent, the organization responsible for the external evaluation of the project, referring to the methodology and results already achieved.

The first panel brought together representatives of ALLright(s)’s official partners: Graça Figueiredo – Group of Schools of Condeixa-a-Nova; Ana Rita Brito – Akto – Human Rights and Democracy; Eva Fabry – European Centre for Women and Technology. The importance of the synergies created by partnerships for institutional growth, development and for the intervention in the community were highlighted.

The second panel, moderated by Fernando Santos, Social Educator at Cáritas Coimbra, included Regina José – Nª Srª de Fátima Centre’s Kindergarten; Vera Alves – Fernando Namora Leisure Time Activities Centre; Jéssica Ferreira – Santa Maria de Semide Youth Residential Home, all Cáritas Coimbra’s facilities/responses and Ângela Figueiredo – Volunteer at the ALLright(s) Project. In general, the project’s adaptability and impact were praised. Regina José, kindergarten teacher, referred to the importance of education for human rights and citizenship from pre-school onwards; Vera Alves and Jéssica Ferreira shared the importance of challenging and bringing young people into reflection, debate and, above all, action, in an increasingly multicultural and diverse world. Ângela Figueiredo called attention to the promotion of attitudes and values that support healthy behaviours and lifestyles, reinforcing the importance of volunteering at Cáritas Coimbra.

The ALLright(s) project is coming to an end and the project team has reinforced the sense of mission accomplished in promoting human rights education and developing a greater sense of activism and citizenship in the children and young people involved. ALLright(s) is funded by the Active Citizens Fund in Portugal – EEA Grants, which is operated in Portugal by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Bissaya Barreto Foundation.

Find out more about ALLright(s) on the project’s website (in Portuguese), on Cáritas Coimbra’s website (in English) and social networks.