As part of the “FOCO na Inclusão” project, promoted by Fundação Cidade de Lisboa between 2021 and 2023, a Good Practice Guide for Socio-Educational Development and Community Engagement in Vulnerable Contexts was created. It shares practices based on active social inclusion strategies carried out by various local actors, using an integrated approach involving schools, neighbourhoods, families, and individuals.
Co-financed by the Lisbon Regional Operational Programme through the European Social Fund, and by the DLBC Network – Innovative and/or Experimental Projects, the FOCO na Inclusão project primarily aimed to provide individualised socio-educational support, artistic workshops, and community mentor training. The project culminated in this Guide, which compiles the methodologies employed and the practices of different organisations, all sharing a participatory, locally rooted approach that fosters a sense of belonging and promotes positive and healthy educational environments.
This Guide seeks to highlight the work carried out in the Santa Clara territory by educational communities, associations, and other local organisations, while also serving as inspiration for new approaches supported by networks, resources, and practices already tested on the ground.
What are Good Practices? In the context of this Guide, a good practice arises from an idea—preferably innovative—that offers a solution to a specific problem. These are practices that are suitable and useful for families, pupils, teachers, schools, and communities—accessible, adoptable, and sustainable over time.
The Guide can be consulted and downloaded from the FOCO na Inclusão website of Fundação Cidade de Lisboa. It identifies and systematises 15 Good Practices shared by social actors and educational agents working in the Santa Clara Parish, with active participation from the Agrupamento de Escolas Pintor Almada Negreiros, the Santa Clara Parish Council, Associação Jovens em Evolução, the Per11 Residents Association, Associação CLIP Recursos e Desenvolvimento, Raízes – Associação de Apoio à Criança e ao Jovem, and Quinta Alegre – um teatro em cada bairro.
The “FOCO na Inclusão” project thus continues its work, striving to build a fairer and more equal future for all.
