Multiplier Event of SDD in Portugal with great feedback!
Juliana Louceiro
The Multiplier Event of Smart for Democracy and Diversity in Portugal developed by SHINE 2Europe was a three-session event in multiple locations. The first took place on May 30th, in Braga, at Minho University, and there were also two sessions in Coimbra on the 19 and 26 June. Given the very successful experience a fourth session is scheduled for July with municipality officers! The participants in the sessions so far were very enthusiastic about the themes, and the way the project approached it. The general opinion is that using educative games in Adult Education helps engage adults in the learning process. Some participants also refer that the game and the toolkit, although has adult learners as the main target group, can be easily integrated into schools or other non-formal or informal types of education for adolescents.
The Municipality of Coimbra was present in one of the sessions, and the representative described the project as valuable and a great strategy to innovate in adult training courses. After the session, the Municipality representative contacted SHINE, inviting the team to present the project in their Working Group for Migrants. Some participants said the game could be translated into more languages, and it is important to approach other forms of discrimination, for example ageism, and discrimination against people with disabilities.
In an activity in groups, SHINE team asked the participants to choose the forms of discrimination they think are more common in Portugal and Coimbra and explain why. The participants pointed to sexism as the main form of discrimination in Portugal, because it is normalized and because of that is also more invisible. The participants also considered that anti-Roma sentiment is prominent in Portugal. In Coimbra, they also pointed out the huge discrimination faced by people with problems of drug abuse.
It was very satisfying to see the work of the last two and a half years being recognized by organizations from the public and private sector! SHINE received very good feedback about the results, and most of the organisations demonstrated interest in using the project results in their own activities!