Municipality of Viana do Castelo

The Viana do Castelo City Council approved, this Tuesday, in an ordinary executive meeting, a Collaboration and Cooperation Protocol between the Higher School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo, the Viana do Castelo City Council and the Humanitarian Center of Alto Minho of the Portuguese Red Cross to implement the “Janelas ConVIDA” project, which aims to combat loneliness and social isolation among the municipality’s elderly people.

The Councilor for Social Cohesion, Carlota Borges, indicates that the project is moving forward “considering the importance of successful aging and the need to promote intergenerational solidarity”.

“This protocol aims to establish an academic volunteering program, the aim of which is to build a support network for elderly people in the municipality of Viana do Castelo, promoting relationships between different generations and combating loneliness and social isolation”, says the Councilor in the proposal.

The draft protocol approved at the ordinary meeting explains that “the Janelas ConVIDA Academic Volunteer Program has as its promoting entity the School of Education of the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo and as partner entities the Municipal Council of Viana do Castelo (CMVC) and the Alto Minho Humanitarian Center of the Portuguese Red Cross (CHAM), with the general objective of contributing to the successful aging of older people living in the municipality of Viana do Castelo”.

In this sense, the Municipality assumes the insurance of volunteers through the Local Volunteer Bank (BLV), as well as their training, collaborates in coordination with the Parish Councils and Parish Unions whenever necessary, also collaborating in the transport of students to the parishes by municipal bus, as long as it is properly planned, with a maximum of two monthly transports. The pilot project of this initiative will move forward immediately in Montaria, a Viana mountain parish.

“To this end, the aim is to promote and interact between different generations in the fight against loneliness, social isolation, insecurity and social exclusion of the elderly, in addition to contributing to the training of these young people”, says Carlota Borges.