Dissemination of DISCOVER project in the Active Citizenship and Local Development Conference
INTRAS Foundation participated in the congress "Mosaico Social - active citizenship and local development", funded by PRODER and held in District of Porto, Portugal, between 27th and 29th of June 2013. This congress was mainly oriented to the Social Network of the North of Portugal - Professionals of Private Social Solidarity Institutions, Associations, NGOs and other local actors.
The objective of the participations was to exchange experiences and working methods between institutions and projects, and also publicize the DISCOVER Project. The event lasted 3 days with a multitude of interactions between local, regional, national and European projects and organizations. On the first day the innovative methodology to generate new ideas "Social Mindshake applied to the third sector" stood out. The last two days of the event were dedicated to debates, conferences and free communications. In the free communications cycles, 40 papers were presented in separate sub-themes: i. Ageing; ii. Encouraging Local Development; iii. Social Innovation in Intervention with Risk Groups; iv. Solidarity Practices in Business Context; v. Training and Employability Practices; vi. Social Entrepreneurship; vii.Gender Equality; viii.Sustainability of the Third Sector.
A free communication was prepared to present DISCOVER Project and the following steps 2013-2014, specifically the test pilots that will be developed in Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, and the UK. The exposure of DISCOVER was held on the 29th of May. The participants contributed actively with positive feedbacks about this innovative methodology adapted to support the users in their care role, stimulate their empowerment and also the social participation. Researchers and directors of public and private social and health organizations were very interested in following the project in the social mediums once the careers are the cornerstones of service provision for elders with disabilities and often forgotten by current systems of social and health welfare. “Supporting actively the careers, particularly informal caregivers, is an imperative line of intervention” attested Helena Pestana, a researcher from UNIFAI (research unit on adult and elderly). Given their complex roles in the lives of dependent people, direct care providers handle a set of challenges, obstacles, problems and situations, especially when the care is performed during extended time and by adults with advanced age.
DISCOVER was connoted as an innovative practice in the support to caregivers. Furthermore, it presents a raised potential to support the sustainability of the third sector. The participants reinforced the need to empower public organizations dedicated to the provision of social and health services regarding the capacity to capture projects of high social value such as DISCOVER.
