Gulbenkian Cuida
The initiative’s projects and impacts
The Gulbenkian Cuida (Care) initiative took place as part of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Emergency Fund call at the beginning of the pandemic, to strengthen civil society’s resilience in the main areas in most need of intervention.
With this initiative’s call, promoted in partnership with the Instituto de Segurança Social (Social Security Institute), the Foundation aimed to bolster the response capacity of civil society’s organisations closely supporting the elderly, mainly through home care, in providing care and other services to those who are more isolated and have now been, more than ever, kept in confinement at home, in accordance with the guidelines for the pandemic given by healthcare authorities.
The goal was to ensure basic needs were met and to preserve the capacities and wellbeing of elderly people, thus making the funding available for expenses related to specialised human resources, equipment and material needed for support activities, to facilitate the establishment of local partnerships, and to the cost-effectiveness of the existing resources in the community, taking into account the projects’ sustainability.
In 2020, 69 entities from all over Portugal were supported, from North to South, from coast to inland, and the Islands.
Through reaching successful results and social and geographically unprotected communities, the funding was extended to 30 of these organisations, so they could continue developing their project’s activities for an extra year. In addition, they got the opportunity to benefit from a training course led by Professor António Fonseca, who has carried out much of his research in this area in recent years, as well as being responsible for the technical monitoring of the projects promoting ageing in the community, with the support of the Foundation.
The Gulbenkian Cuida brochure gathers important information about the initiative, the 30 projects, the lessons and impacts found from the professionals’ practice and qualifications, as well as the changes felt in the organisations themselves, which is reflected in the quality of the care provided now and in the future.
The document is currently only available in Portuguese.
Technical information
- Responsabilities:
Quotes from the reports for monitoring the projects
Photography: Teams/entities responsible for the projects
Technical support of the projects: António Fonseca
Graphic design: TVM Designers- Language:
- Portuguese
- Editorial coordination:
- Anabela Salgueiro
- Edited:
- 2021
- Entity:
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation | Programa Gulbenkian Desenvolvimento Sustentável
- Pages:
- 44 p.