Barafunda, Associação Juvenil de Cultura e Solidariedade Social

description of organisation

Barafunda, AJCSS (Youth Association of Culture and Social Solidarity) is a non-profit non governmental organization with over 35 years of experience in social inclusion, community intervention, training and education (including formal, non-formal and informal education). In 1982, it was recognized as a Private Institution for Social Solidarity, with the status of public utility.

Our aims are:
• Promote the cultural, social and economic development of the territory and people through individual and collective involvement;
• Promoting equal opportunities, arts and creativity, through delivering information, training, education and culture to people that are in disadvantaged situations;
• Continuously refine and update our work to support people's challenges and contribute to competitive advantage, contributing to the development and increase of people's competitiveness through the improvement and creation of services adapted to market demands;
• Intervene with competence and experience to the satisfaction of our citizens, our team and all those with whom you collaborate;
Our goals are:
• Development of activities to support children and young people, their art and creativity, considering their social inclusion, in an intergenerational bond.
• Information, training, education and culture of individuals, regardless of age or gender.
• Diagnosis, promotion and active participation in local-regional development initiatives.

Our target groups are children, young people and adults, including people that are socially, economically or culturally disadvantaged.

Our regular activities are:

• Training and Education (formal, non-formal and informal) - educational activities and projects, formal and non-formal training courses, vocational training and education, adult education and training, youth training and vocational orientation. We worked with over 7000 adults in training activities. Being a certified training organization (by DGERT - Directorate-General for Employment and Work Relations) we have currently over 600 young and adults in training and qualification activities. We also developed several projects with young people, aiming for their development and the establishment of connections at local, regional national and international (European) levels (such as developing youth mobility projects).

• Qualification center – National project that aims to intervene with people with lower qualifications, promoting vocational orientation and training, for adults and young people over 18 years old. Some intervention fields are vocational orientation, career management and employability and skills recognition, validation and certification (RVCC). Since 2017, we followed more than 1300 people and we have over 50 active partnerships with companies and institutions.

• Youth Center - It has been operating since 1997 and represents a space for educational and socio-cultural intervention. Development of dynamics supporting youth and adults, with a constructive occupation of leisure time, fostering the intergenerational encounter sharing traditional and current knowledge. There were multiple dynamics of formal and non-formal education and training, namely: workshops (healthy eating, music, virtual school, traditional games, science, creativity); conferences; cinema; meetings; community events; meditation. An after-school program runs with children from 6 to 12 years old, develops recreational activities such as homework and study support, crafts, indoor/outdoor activities, games, swimming, ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), sport, pedagogical workshops (e.g. promoting teamwork and self-awareness activities) and cultural and educational trips. It has a meal service following a healthy and Mediterranean diet.

• Local development projects with diverse topics, such as environmental sustainability, cultural information, social and digital Inclusion. Some of our current projects in this areas include intergenerational workshops (involving an exchange between youth and adults) about the topics of seam, recycled sculptures, organic farming and permaculture (which we consider a key to success in the development of rural areas, and regarding ecological and individual sustainability). We also continuously prepare meetings, lectures, congresses, workshops, information sessions and debates of a cultural, socio-educational and educational nature for information, debate, sharing and social confraternization.