Braga, Portugal

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c_city_of_braga.jpg

Give [the] city to [the] people. Braga is an integrating, cultural, historical, artistic, innovative, inclusive and identity-enhancing city. We [aim to be] an educational and democratic city that supports lifelong learning.

Mr Ricardo Rio

Mayor

A cosmopolitan and inclusive city

As Portugal’s third largest city, Braga is a cosmopolitan and inclusive city with a rapidly growing foreign population. A pedestrian-friendly and historic city, Braga was the 2012 European Youth Capital and the 2016 Ibero-American Youth Capital. 

Vision and Strategy

Lifelong learning is important for our city because it encourages city residents to participate actively in building a city for a brighter future. We prioritize participatory citizenship, social inclusion, and the provision of opportunities for intergenerational encounters where young and old can exchange knowledge. By joining the GNLC, we hope to engage in meetings with other cities, share best practices, and visit other learning cities to find out about their lifelong learning programmes and initiatives.  

Policies, Plan and Implementation

Sustainability and health

• Sustainability and health practices are being integrated into the activities of educational institutions. The ‘Participatory Budget’ project invites community members to contribute to policy-making by submitting suggestions and ideas. This is a sustainable way of improving the city’s quality of life.  

Equity and inclusion

• As a culturally diverse city, Braga places inclusion and equity at the core of its lifelong learning initiatives and policies in order to ensure that everyone has access to quality education. Integration programmes and social support are available to foster equality in schools, public spaces, health centres and institutions.   

Decent work and entrepreneurship

• The municipality of Braga and its employment and vocational training services work together to provide training, guide enrolment in courses, provide individualized support to companies, disseminate information on internships, and support hiring processes. Programmes such as the Economy Fair encourage young people to become entrepreneurs.  

Good practices

Qualifications Centre

• This is a consortium to raise awareness of the importance of lifelong learning in labour market integration, career advancement and professional retraining. Candidates’ needs and interests are discussed before they are allocated to a suitable programme.  

Braga, Reading City

• This initiative, coordinated by the Office of the School Libraries Network, promotes reading and involves the community in creating a reading city. Libraries are set up in public schools and in spaces that are accessible to the public, and services such as digital support are provided to the public to engage them in reading.  

Capacit'art 

• In partnership with the Artistic Education Cooperative, this initiative caters for the learning requirements of special needs learners through music therapy.