Braga is hosting, during this week, the International Network ‘ISA Culture’, an initiative led by the Bracara Augusta Foundation, which stands out as a symbol of inclusion, diversity and cooperation. This meeting features the participation of young people with various social, cultural, physical and intellectual vulnerabilities, from Spain, Slovenia and also Portugal.
The ‘ISA Culture’ project aims to promote the exchange of experiences and knowledge between different cultures and realities, fostering mutual understanding and building bridges between communities.
During this week, participants have the opportunity to participate in various cultural, educational and recreational activities, which aim to provide moments of fun and learning, but also promote inclusion and mutual acceptance, from didactic games to guided tours of historical sites.
This Thursday, the president of Braga City Council, Ricardo Rio, received the participants in the Salão Nobre dos Paços do Concelho, and highlighted the support and collaboration of several entities that came together around this project. “Braga is a space for meeting and inclusion and we are certain that culture has a determining role in the reinsertion of audiences that cultural initiatives do not reach”, said the mayor, remembering that “there is still a long way to go”.
Ricardo Rio defended the need to “create a critical mass in society that is sufficient to break down barriers, bring together, form and include”. Therefore, he continued, “this cooperation that involves universities, entities from the social and cultural sector, all with the same objective of promoting access to culture by vulnerable groups, will contribute decisively to the social inclusion and active participation of these young people” .
Miguel Bandeira, president of the Bracara Augusta Foundation, took the opportunity to congratulate Ricardo Rio for his support and welcome on this day of the project that brings together qualified and representative delegations from Spain and Slovenia in Braga. “The Bracara Augusta Foundation is pleased with the success of the partnership and cooperation work that it has been developing within the scope of the European network of which this project is a precursor and for the way in which we have been promoting accessibility to culture in all sectors that make up diversity of our communities, especially in the processes of inclusion of groups that have been removed from participation, work and enjoyment of the cultural production that takes place”, he maintained.
Referring to the “exemplary” participation and the “attention and interest demonstrated” by this group, Miguel Bandeira said that this data “is quite revealing that this project born from Braga can be included in the competencies and program of the Portuguese Capital of Culture, a title that Braga will bear in 2025, guaranteeing, from now on, the distinction, reach and pioneering spirit of this initiative to make the Portuguese Capital of Culture inclusive and accessible to all audiences and participation”.
