Participo!

Participo! - Women's Civic and Political Participation was a local project delivered by the União de Freguesias de Aldoar, Foz do Douro e Nevogilde (Porto, Portugal), financed through EEA Grants.

The project aimed to increase rates of political and civic participation among women and girls in the three parishes, deepen the involvement of women already active in local political/civic life, raise awareness of gender equality and opportunities, and create tools facilitating local political and civic participation.

Activities included a working group for reflection and debate, a pilot digital platform for civic/political participation, a Theatre of the Oppressed simulation of parish assemblies, Personal Storytelling-based empowerment actions, an Empowerment and Mentoring Programme, intensive citizenship-education academies for young people, a B-learning advanced training course for women, a Local Women's Network for mutual help and mentoring, and a TEDxPorto Salon (fishbowl-format) event.

Outputs included a mapping of obstacles to women's civic and political participation, a subsequent proposal of solutions, an Intermediate and a Final Forum for debate, and a published guide disseminating opportunities and participation mechanisms; the total programme cost was €240,019, financed by EEA Grants.

The project is presented as successfully deepening participation among women already engaged in local civic/political life and equipping them with concrete tools, though the source material does not report an independent outcome evaluation.