Torres Vedras

General Information
 
Mayor of the Municipality: 
Carlos Manuel Antunes Bernardes
Contact Person within the Municipality: 
Ana Umbelino - Municipal Councillor for Social Affairs
Facilitators: 
Lindo Cambão
Total population: 
80 000
Source: 
http://www.cm-tvedras.pt/informacao-geografica/demografia-geo/
Roma living in the Municipality: 
300
Source: 
Estimation by the local facilitator
Description of the Municipality: 

The External Evaluation Case Study for Torres Vedras by Blomeyer & Sanz s.l. is available in Portuguese and English. Visit the Resources section for other 14 case studies of the evaluation.

Portugal Country Findings of the external evaluation available in Portuguese and English

*Disclaimer: The information and views set out in this page are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the Council of Europe and/or the European Commission. Neither the Council of Europe, the European Commission nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Torres Vedras is situated close to Lisbon and has a population of around 80 000 inhabitants. Due to Portuguese regulations which forbid ethnic data collection, the exact number of Roma in Torres Vedras is unknown, however the mediator and the municipality estimates that there are around 300 Roma living in Torres Vedras.  

The majority of the Roma families live in the largest social neighborhood of the city (Boavista). While some families rely on social welfare, the majority of Roma in Torres Vedras are street vendors or seasonal workers.
The Municipality installed tents in front of the municipal market so as to ease the access of vendors to the market.

Up until November 2015, Mr Carlos Miguel - former mayor of the municipality of Roma origins himself - has shown great support toward the process of participation triggered by the programme. A video presenting his onlook on the issue is available in the ROMED2 in Media section of the website or watch the video here.

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Photo gallery - ROMED2 in Torres Vedras

CAG identified needs: 

Short-term priorities:
- The hiring by the municipality or entities of the Social Network (Promotorres, Parish councils, Social centers, NGOs) of 5 Roma people - three men and two women (through Programmes of IEFP – Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional - Portuguese Institute of Employment);
- Increase by 3 the number of persons working within this framework until October 2015 (8 employees in total);
- Negotiate with the municipality of a small subsidy for the local church’s monthly rent (540 euros/month);
- Organise an anti-discrimination event within the municipality;

Long-term priorities:

  • - Reduce the unemployment rate among Roma in Torres Vedras;
Initiatives within ROMED2 and relevant Local Action Plan: 

In Torres Vedras, the strong commitment of local authorities towards the ROMED2 process of participation of the Roma community provides an excellent example of the achievements possible through this approach.
In December 2014, Mr Lindo Cambão was hired by the muncipality for his function of mediator and local facilitator within the Roma community through the CEI+ programme of the IEFP – Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional, and since 2016 his employment was taken on by the municipality through the local budget.

Furthermore, with the help of the local facilitator, the municipality of Torres Vedras conducted surveys with the Roma community so as to assess training needs in view of an application for vocational training courses through the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement.

Timeline

5 May 2015
Other
25 May 2015
Community Action Group Meeting
26 May 2015
Other
23 Jun 2015
Meeting with Local Authorities
21 Aug 2015
Community Action Group Meeting
6 Sep 2015
Joint Meeting between the CAG and Local Authorities
29 Oct 2015
Other
13 Nov 2015
Joint Meeting between the CAG and Local Authorities
7 Mar 2016
Meeting with Local Authorities
31 Mar 2016
Meeting with Local Authorities
19 Jul 2016
Meeting with Local Authorities
15 Jan 2017
Joint Meeting between the CAG and Local Authorities
20 Jan 2017
Other
7 Mar 2017
Meeting with Local Authorities
1 Apr 2017
Other
29 Apr 2017
Community Action Group Meeting
14 Jul 2017
Other
10 Aug 2017
Meeting with Local Authorities
30 Aug 2017
Meeting with Local Authorities
9 Sep 2017
Other
22 Sep 2017
Other
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