The Porto Metropolitan Area Executive Committee’s Chief Executive Officer, Agostinho Branquinho, considers that the Action Plan for the Disadvantaged Communities had a “direct impact on people’s lives”.

According to Agostinho Branquinho, the 16.5 million mobilised to “promote more effective responses among the most vulnerable populations” in the municipalities of Maia, Santo Tirso and Trofa made it possible to “develop concrete initiatives among communities, strengthen social responses and support interventions with a direct impact on people’s lives”.

"The work carried out shows that, when there is institutional cooperation, strategic vision and proximity to communities, it is possible to generate real changes", stressed the CEO of the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP), at the ceremony presenting the results of the operations implemented in the North Inland Local Technical Unit’s municipalities.

Therefore, Agostinho Branquinho argues that the closure of the Action Plan for the Disadvantaged Communities cannot represent “an end but rather a moment of renewal of the commitment” of the AMP.

“As the Metropolitan Area of Porto, we will continue to work to ensure that public policy instruments contribute to more cohesive, inclusive and fairer territories. And we will continue to value the role of local communities and the entities that work with them on a daily basis", said Agostinho Branquinho.

For the AMP’s CEO, “public policies only make real sense when they translate into concrete opportunities for people, when they help create autonomy pathways, when they strengthen access to services, when they bring citizens closer to solutions”.