Portugal
Lourinhã Municipality
Since 2006
15th.
This project is part of a new public management model, based on the empowerment of a new citizenship, on the emergence of an organized and active civil society, alongside the municipality, capable of producing development and change.
The main objective was and is to empower the community to promote the development of the village from a sustainability perspective, involving the environmental, economic and social aspects.
The project, carried out by a growing group of non-organized citizens, has the value of active participation, in a context of shared assumption of responsibility, with local authorities at the level of thinking, doing, and looking for solutions that make possible that is considered to be done. From the beginning, it was intended to develop a relationship of trust and mutual assistance between the Municipality, the citizens and the parish council.
The project was initiated by a citizen who considered it urgent to reverse the degradation of the village space, improve the quality of life and settle people. Other citizens joined this person and together they developed a sustainable development project for the village, which they presented to the municipality. In parallel, and since there were no means in the municipality to develop what was proposed, they sought partnerships and developed the plan, always informing and discussing the process with the municipality and having its support whenever necessary. One of the first collaborations was with the Lisbon School of Fine Arts for the development of sculptures to enhance the country's intangible heritage, which were the starting point for the redevelopment of the public space.
São Bartolomeu dos Galegos e Moledo is a civil parish in the municipality of Lourinhã, Portugal. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of the former parishes São Bartolomeu dos Galegos and Moledo. The population in 2011 was 1,483, in an area of 20.10 km². As a whole, the municipality of Lourinha has 25,735 inhabitants in an area of 147.17 km² The Moledo conVida initiative has been taking place in this area since 2006.
Through the direct initiative of this group of unorganized citizens and always with the support of the Municipality and the Parish Council, it has already been possible to:
- Upgrading much of the village
- Differentiate the village through art (10+ sculptures, 20 ceramics, morals)
- Valuing the intangible heritage, the common culture, the shared stories were highlighted, assumed as identity and helped to build the project.
From a social point of view, there is an improvement in the self-esteem of the people of the village, appropriation of what has been achieved, they claim more. Indirectly and as a result of the work carried out, new businesses emerged in the village that allowed the population to settle.
For the development of the village, the project, which included the requalification of the public space, enhancement of heritage, education, environmental protection and economic development, among others, was developed using several partnerships established by the Citizenship Group with different entities that, whenever necessary, were facilitated by the Municipality. With regard to empowerment, there were forums for consultation with the population, actions of the oppressed, theater with adults, theater with children, calls for participation in specific moments, pedagogical actions programmed with the Municipality, such as, for example, making a petition so that the village cleanliness was improved.
At the same time, the Municipality held meetings with the Citizenship Group in order to consult them on what they considered best for the village, within the scope of the Municipality's Strategic Development Plan. In 2020, a communication dynamic was established by the Municipality that involves quarterly meetings, with the Citizens Group and in which the Parish Council also participates so that strategies, programmed actions and forms of mutual support can be jointly defined.
Currently, the project is still under development, with a public space for leisure being requalified and, depending on the will of the population, and with new partnerships, there is a focus on the economic and environmental aspects, which involves rethinking agricultural production. and to study the possibility of creating products with the stamp of the village and the citizenship project.
Like all projects founded on people, this is a project that is difficult to replicate as it stands. There are, however, some factors that can be replicated: The use of the social capital of each partner. The search for different ways of listening to people — people often find it difficult to express themselves — the incorporation of methodologies such as the theater of the oppressed was key to different forms of participation and inclusion. The search for the appreciation of the other (person or entity). In each action, the Municipality valued a citizenship group. Openness to listen and confidence in the Group's decision-making capacity. The acceptance of imperfection, that at the beginning citizenship is not as representative as one would like it to be, but that it grows.
Although the project did not carry out formal evaluation actions, there were several moments of "state of play", whenever a review of the strategy was carried out or when, at the request of the Municipality, presentations of results were made in the context of municipal congresses (Congresso do Planalto das Cesaredas, for which most of the interested parties were interviewed; Congress of the Associative Movement where, precisely, the group was invited to explain why it remains as an unorganized group). In addition, the project was evaluated by external entities to which all documentation was provided from the beginning and access was provided so that they could speak with the population and participate in meetings. An example was an analysis of the project within the scope of a master's degree in Social and Solidarity Economy at ISCTE and within the scope of the Alternatives Program.
Sources
Municipality website
Application form
ParticipateOIDP platform
Description of the project
Video of the initiative
Join the OIDP
