Applications are now open for the 2nd semester of the volunteering programme Projeto VIDA - Voluntariado na Católica, aimed at the entire community of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa at its headquarters in Lisbon.

The Projeto Vida offers volunteering opportunities to students, staff, teachers and researchers, enabling them to take part in various social initiatives.

This semester, the programme has new partners, thus broadening its impact on the community, including Casa Pia de Lisboa, Casa de S. Francisco de Assis, Clínica S. João de Ávila, Fundação Infantil Ronald McDonald, Centro Social e Paroquial S. Tomás de Aquino, Vitae and Centro Social Polivalente do Bairro Padre Cruz.

The experience of volunteering has a profound impact on both the community and the volunteers themselves. Bárbara Nunes, a student on the Integrated Master's Degree in Medicine at Católica and a volunteer at the Association of Friends of Santa Maria Hospital (AAHSM), shares her experience: "Since May 2023, I have had the privilege of volunteering weekly at the AAHSM, contributing to the Central Emergency Department. This commitment has already totalled 98 dedicated hours, during which I've had the opportunity to support patients, carers and healthcare professionals in an environment marked by moments of vulnerability and demand". "I strongly believe that volunteering programmes, such as the one promoted by the Portuguese Universidade Católica, Projeto VIDA, play a fundamental role in shaping citizens who are more aware of and committed to collective well-being", she adds.

The importance of volunteering is also emphasised by Maria do Céu Machado, President of the AAHSM, who highlights the essential role of volunteers in the hospital: "Being a volunteer means knowing how to listen, knowing how to speak when you need to, smiling, touching, helping or walking away and coming back later. It means being willing to help, having empathy and compassion for suffering, trying to feel what the Other feels.’ ‘Young or not so young, students or pensioners, people in active life, everyone, EVERYONE is welcome and we thank them all for the time and joy they give to our patients", he emphasises.

Sign up by 19 February.

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The Impact Career Lab, held on February 10 and 13, brought together students from Universidade Católica Portuguesa and social organizations in a joint effort to find creative solutions to real challenges.

Organized in partnership by the Yunus Social Innovation Center, the Careers&Talent Office of the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics and the Católica Social Responsibility Office, the event offered an immersive experience divided into two moments: Learn by Doing and Learn by Example.

In the first workshop, Learn by Doing, participants were challenged to work in multidisciplinary teams, bringing together students from different areas of the Universidade Católica, in Lisbon, to solve concrete problems presented by seven social organizations: Fundação Galp, Just a Change, CAIS, Pedalar sem Idade, Lisbon Project, Crescer and Semear.

With a total of 59 participants, this format allowed for a practical and engaging experience, in which the students highlighted the possibility of helping NGOs, working in teams and applying their knowledge to real-world challenges.

“The Universidade Católica, with the diversity of areas of knowledge it offers and the quality of its teaching staff and students, cannot afford to miss opportunities to create convergence, innovation and creativity in this talent-rich environment. The Impact Careers Lab initiative has put this at the service of society, setting an example that I believe should be replicated, promoted and disseminated”, said Frederico Fezas Vital, Executive Director of the Católica-Lisbon Yunus Social Innovation Center.

Maria João Santos, Head of Careers&Talent Office, reinforced the impact of this event on the students' education by providing a broader vision of their career possibilities.“This event showed students from different schools in Lisbon different ways of having an impact on the community, not only as volunteers or social entrepreneurs, but also through corporate paths and experiencing this possibility with different organizations”.

The President's Advisor on Social Responsibility, Rita Paiva e Pona, highlighted the importance of creating direct links between students and the challenges faced by social organisations: "Questions are asked, ideas emerge, committed solutions are proposed. You learn by doing and you learn by example".

João Galveia, from CAIS, expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative: "It was inspiring to see the involvement and creativity of the young people in building solutions to bring CAIS closer to young people. The interaction provided proposals with a strong commitment to social inclusion and reinforced the importance of collaboration in transforming lives".

In the second workshop, Learn by Example, the students had the opportunity to learn about volunteers and social innovators who are already making a difference.

With a panel made up of Fernanda Freitas, Founder of Eixo Norte Sul, Marta Bastos dos Santos, Director of EDP's Volunteering Programme, and Maria Figueira Xavier, UCP student and Founder and Co-manager of the Além do Manual Project, the 82 participants were able to learn from real and inspiring experiences.

The session, moderated by Rita Paiva e Pona, provided participants with valuable insights into how to build a career with impact, regardless of their area of training. Among the points most valued by the students was the idea of learning to have an impact on the work they do, whether already in the professional market or while they are still completing their studies.

The Impact Career Lab was thus a space for practical learning and inspiration, where students could experiment, reflect and build solutions to social challenges, preparing themselves for careers that can truly impact society.

On 24 February, a group of young refugees accompanied by Aldeias SOS visited the headquarters of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, in an initiative promoted by the Faculty of Human Sciences (FCH), the João Paulo II University Library and the Social Responsibility Office.

The visit took place as part of a research project on young refugees and the use of the media as a way of welcoming them, carried out by professors Sandra Borges Tavares and Patrícia Dias.

Sandra Borges Tavares, a lecturer at the FCH, emphasised the importance of this meeting, "which focused on young refugees and the use of the media as a way of integrating into the host country".

The meeting "drew our attention to the need to create more opportunities, both in terms of cultural exchange and also in terms of our role as researchers and teachers, always with an eye on what is happening in the world".

Inês Espada Vieira, Coordinator of the Initiative for Students and Researchers at Risk at the Universidade Católica, also emphasises the importance of this moment, saying that the moment "in the Portuguese Language II class, of the Applied Foreign Languages course, was a meeting in the “conversation wheel”, all together in the same ethical and human territory, despite the obvious differences in each other's lives".

The tour of the John Paul II University Library included a guided tour, where the young people got to know the different areas of the Library, from the digitisation room and the equipment used, to the monograph collection and the Fancy Van Gogh digital art exhibition. "This initiative reinforced BUJPII's commitment to inclusion and the promotion of knowledge for all", said librarian Samuel Santos.

For Mariana Andrade, Social Empowerment, Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator at the Social Responsibility Office, "getting to know the University and sharing experiences with young people from different backgrounds is always very rewarding. It was especially enriching to see how, in such a short space of time, these young people opened up to this new reality and showed their interest".

Chiara Vitiello, a technician at SOS Villages, thanked us for the experience, saying that "the young people loved it and were very curious about everything they experienced at the University". "Activities like this are great for them to get to know new contexts and people they would probably never have the chance to meet otherwise", she emphasised.

More than just a visit, this experience provided a moment of sharing and discovery, promoting an encounter between different cultures and perspectives.