Descrizione dell'organizzazione

The Associação Operação Vida it´s a private, non-profit and youth organization that aims to promote activities on drug abuse primary prevention area, as well as, stabilising partnerships with other organizations that are also working in this field and strengthen the bonds of friendship among its members. Built in 2003, this organization has had a growing membership process, specially coming from young people from the social sciences area (social workers, psychologists, social educators, youth workers, nurses), but also from young people living with fewer opportunities that have been involved in projects developed by this organization, that are the “hands” and the “heart” of Associação Operação Vida, volunteering in each one of its projects. So, the main activities and projects developed by this organization are built with and for young people, in the area of risk behaviour prevention as well as on the promotion of healthy lifestyles, like sports activities, workshops, training, theme weekends, street campaigns, projects to promote personal and social skills among young people coming from vulnerable communities in Madeira Island (main target groups), among others. It has also been Associação Operação Vida practice, to carry out projects under the Youth in Action Programme, now Erasmus+ Youth in Action , such as Youth Exchanges and Youth Initiatives like: "Youth on the Move" (2008), "Radically Inclusive" (2009), "Rhythms of Inclusion" (2010), "Alternative: Surf!" (2010), "Be Young! Be Active! Be the Future!" (2011) and “Say no to Violence! Solve your stuff with intelligence!” (2012), “Read a book and free your mind!” (2013). Since 2013 Associação Operação Vida started to be accredited by the Portuguese National Agency as sending, coordinating and hosting organization for European Voluntery Service. Ever since that date we already sent 2 EVS volunteers and host 1. We want to invest in this area so that we can mobilize more young people and more European organizations. As an active organization in the youth field, Associação Operação Vida intents to promote such kind of projects, to develop initiatives that allow young people to exchange experiences, to increase their knowledge and gain new competences. This way we will be promoting to have European young people even more competent, more motivated, more tolerant and more prepared to face the actual employment challenges. We would say that, the experience over the YiA programme has been not only interesting, but essentially important for the social inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities coming from vulnerable communities of Madeira Island (target group for intervention), having a positive impact in those communities and a relevant contribution to leave seeds of hope, social responsibility, European awareness, active citizenship, human rights and true social inclusion in those living contexts. Apart from the experience of its members at the YiA programme, in several sub-actions as EVS, Youth Exchanges, Youth Initiatives national and transnational and Training and Networking Connections, this Association has promoted several activities either on its own initiative or in response to young people’s and community organizations requests, which has allowed us a more enriched and fresher look under the intervention with young people, benefiting the organization and its members as well as the young people involved in the projects promoted.All these projects may be understood as powerful tools of youth empowerment, as well as promoters of personal enrichment of its beneficiaries and facilitators of the exercise of active citizenship among young people.