Generation Project (Projecto Geração)

Combating truancy and drop-out rates is the main purpose of the Generation Project, which is the product of the joint efforts of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Amadora City Council. The project includes diverse initiatives aimed at reducing social exclusion and the inequality of opportunities that exists between peripheral zones and urban centres.

The Casal da Boba housing development in Amadora was chosen as the priority intervention zone for this project. As a rehousing neighbourhood, with a population that is mostly of Cape Verdean descent, the signs of social exclusion are evident.

The Generation Project has made it possible for children and youths in the neighbourhood to join an orchestra, learn judo, go back to school and get professional qualifications in the areas they prefer – to name just a few examples of the actions aimed at furthering social integration.

In 2007 and 2008 the project was also subsidised by the EU’s EQUAL initiative.

From 2005 to 2009 some 1,000 children and young people have benefited from the project.