Polo de Coimbra

Contribute to the integral development of the child in the defense and promotion of its rights.

Liaison Person at the Board of Directors: Dr. Luís Vaz das Neves

Coordination: Drª. Paula Duarte

General objectives of IAC Coimbra

To promote intervention strategies and support actions in the defense and promotion of the Rights of the Child.
To promote an intervention agreed upon with other services in order to provide children and young people with an environment of care, attention and affection.
To create strategies in partnership with schools that promote inclusion and citizenship.
To promote good practices and share enriching experiences that allow a better adequacy of attitudes towards the child/youth.
To promote training and awareness-raising activities for the defense and promotion of the Rights of the Child.

Target Group

In Coimbra, the IAC promotes, supports and disseminates the work of all those who care about the search for new answers to childhood and youth problems; promotes, fosters and supports student and family support offices (GAAF) in different groupings of schools in the north of Leiria, within the framework of the school mediation project. It designs, organizes and implements awareness-raising training and boosts inter-institutional dialogue in order to raise awareness of the problem of children at risk, through a network of partner institutions, the Rede Construir Juntos (RCJ) and the Rede Juvenil Crescer Juntos (RJCJ), which seek to enhance networking and proximity with local entities, taking into account the opinions and proposals of children and young people. The RCJ aims to enhance the synergies of actions to combat social exclusion and currently brings together a considerable number of institutions with responsibility in the area of childhood and youth. It is coordinated and promoted, at the national level, by the IAC Coimbra and the Projecto Rua – Em Família para Crescer – and has the potential to involve children and young people, which constitute the RJCJ in annual and proactive projects.

In the school year 2018/2019, seven GAAFs received direct technical support from the IAC team at Coimbra, through orientation meetings, supervision and evaluation of the intervention, as well as the promotion of awareness-raising actions aimed at students, teachers, guardians, specialists and operational assistants.

The awareness-raising and training actions aim to disseminate in the community the defense and promotion of the Rights of Children, stemming from formal and informal partnerships. These actions are aimed at children of various ages, families, professionals from different areas and all the agents of the educational community.

Intervention Axis

Team

* Faculty member from the Ministry of Education stationed in IAC.

History

In 1985, the first step was taken towards the creation of the IAC Coimbra Regional Nucleus, at the initiative of Torrado da Silva, a pediatrician at the Coimbra Pediatric Hospital and founding partner of the Instituto de Apoio à Criança (IAC). A group of experts concerned about the problems of childhood, in particular children who have been abused, was then set up.

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In 1985, the first step was taken towards the creation of the IAC Coimbra Regional Nucleus, at the initiative of Torrado da Silva, a pediatrician at the Coimbra Pediatric Hospital and founding partner of the Instituto de Apoio à Criança (IAC). A group of experts concerned about the problems of childhood, in particular children who have been abused, was then set up.

In 1992, the IAC Coimbra officially began its intervention, guided by the main objective of promoting and defending the Rights of Children, thus assuming itself as an entity at the service of the child in the region. Aiming to improve the quality of life of children and young people, IAC directed its activity towards foster institutions.

As of 2006, the IAC Coimbra was renamed IAC – Forum Construir Juntos, being responsible, since that year, for the coordination and dynamization of the RCJ. It is a network of institutions in the area of childhood and youth, which aims to promote the national debate on combating social exclusion.

Currently, the IAC Coimbra develops its intervention in different segments, namely in the area of school mediation, dynamizing and providing technical support to GAAFs, north of Leiria. It also develops training programmes, promotes awareness-raising actions and participates in various seminars.

The IAC Coimbra is also a host institution where students from different areas can do their internships, providing them with a unique complement to their academic / professional / personal goals. It also participates in several activities promoted by partner institutions with the purpose of contributing to the integral development of the child and in the defense and promotion of its rights.