Rato - Associação para a Divulgação Cultural e Científica [ADCC - Association for Cultural and Scientific Promotion] aims at social inclusion through Information and Communication Technologies.

Rato - ADCC operates along the following lines:

1. training activities in the field of ICT;
2. documents and digital platforms for non-profit projects;
3. dialogue and community empowerment activities.

Rato - ADCC develops its work based on 2 axes:

1. work based on the voluntary participation of people, particularly young people;
2. work based on partnerships with other social actors.

• Solidarity: the association values mutual collaboration between people and organisations to achieve social equity in a community;
• Respect: the association defends human rights and the importance of a human being regardless of their origin or social condition;
• Diversity: the association values the difference between people and organisations as a factor that promotes the development and resilience of a community;
• Sharing: the association promotes the sharing of knowledge and resources between people and organisations in a community;
• Dialogue: the association promotes the empathetic and assertive exchange of information, opinion or feelings between all the people and organisations in a community;
• Participation: the association promotes the opportunity for people to take part in the organisation regardless of their origin or social status;
• Learning: the association promotes the human right of all people to education through the use of participatory and active methods.

Rato - ADCC's action focuses on the ‘People’ pillar of the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs] and translates across the other SDGs, but with a focus on SDG #4 - Quality Education with a direct link to SDG #10 - Reducing Inequalities.

It should be noted that the SDGs have a reflexive nature within the 2030 Agenda: in this way, Rato - ADCC's intervention has an indirect impact on the other SDGs - as mentioned earlier, the association's work dynamics have a comprehensive and transversal character with different social agents throughout the Setúbal’s peninsula.

I - For whom? Audiences for whom Rato - ADCC works directly.

• General public in need of digital and technological skills
• People in situations of social exclusion due to employability issues
• Young people with an appetite for ICT and active participation 

II - How? Strategies used to work with the target groups.

• Use and valorisation of Information and Communication Technologies as a strategy for Social Inclusion;
• Development of learning practices using active and participatory methods in complementary contexts of Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Education;
• Development and valorisation of different forms of Active Participation by people in solving community challenges;
• Working in partnership with different institutions, organisations and formal and non-formal projects;
• Intervention in the municipalities of Seixal, Almada, Palmela and Sesimbra.

III - What to do? Actions to be developed.

• ICT training towards the concrete needs of the communities in the priority territories;
• Formal accreditation of Rato - ADCC's training work:
• 0f1c1n4 - a community space for learning by doing (DIY) in the areas of ICT, Multimedia, Electronics and UpCycling at the Miratejo Youth Centre;
• Partnerships with formal education institutions addressing different areas (i.e. Accounting, Youth Work...) and higher qualification levels, namely university education
• Actions to publicise national and international volunteering in non-formal education institutions
• Use of international and national internship and volunteering support programmes
• PartEs - Participation School based on the ‘Youth Oracle’ methodology to be held in different formal education institutions in the territories identified
• Creation of a plan for welcoming, monitoring and recognising the skills of all the association's volunteers and trainees
• Creation of a plan for monitoring and evaluating the activities of Rato - ADCC

IV - What changes? Changes resulting from the strategies and measures.

• Greater number of participants covered by Rato - ADCC training activities;
• Greater number of activities in partnership with formal education organisations;
• Higher number of Rato - ADCC volunteers and trainees;
• Increase in Rato - ADCC's financial turnover.

See the activities report of 2023

With our team of contracted workers, we have many volunteers and interns helping us with our projects...??