“Creative, innovative, out of the box and a bit eccentric”: this is how Isis Joaquim describes the Viral project, in which she is a participant. Aimed at young people aged between 16 and 30 from vulnerable backgrounds, particularly from the Campanhã neighborhood in OPorto, the project works with people in NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) situations through artistic workshops and the co-creation of shows/public events.

“We’ve been working to understand what relationship they have with futsal and to bring together different artistic techniques, always around the idea of futsal”, explains Paulo Mota, the project’s artistic director. It’s the fusion of futsal technique with the mouldable and abstract nature of the arts that “is going to make something different”, according to monitor José Medina, and that “leads to a bidirectional exchange of knowledge, that was far more interesting to us than just giving classes and rattling off tools”.

For participant Daniela Ramos, playing futsal “is an art”. Describing herself as “a person who sometimes doubts her own abilities”, her participation in the project made her feel “accomplished”. The project’s social director, Susana Lages, also notes how the participants are “much more at ease and much more spontaneous and secure”.