Inclusive growth is one of the dimensions of the European Strategy 2020, along with the dimensions of smart growth and sustainable growth. The approach to the themes of inclusive growth in the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP), which is the object of this book, is part of the diagnosis carried out in 2013 which supported the elaboration of the AMP 2020 Strategy Plan.

Smart growth is one of the dimensions of the European Strategy 2020, along with the dimensions of sustainable growth and inclusive growth. The approach to the themes of smart growth in the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP), which is the object of this book, is part of the diagnosis carried out in 2013 which supported the elaboration of the AMP 2020 Strategy Plan.

Sustainable growth is one of the dimensions of the European Strategy 2020, along with the dimensions of smart growth and inclusive growth. The approach to the themes of sustainable growth in the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP), which is the object of this book, is part of the diagnosis carried out in 2013 which supported the elaboration of the AMP 2020 Strategy Plan.

In their original model, the Curriculum Enrichment Activities (AEC) emerge as a programme dedicated to primary school students (1 to 4th grade) aimed at promoting the operationalization of the “full-time school” concept. Despite subsequent changes (in particular in 2008, 2011 and 2013), the programme was based on the idea of offering these children a set of activities that could enhance their personal development. This was one of the structuring lines of the programme, defining that the activities implemented should be properly framed from an educational point of view to ensure that they would function as a complement to the other basic acquisitions associated with “curricular” learning.

One of the most effective ways to evolve as a society is by identifying and sharing best practices that contribute positively to socio-economic development. This document presents some of the best practices identified within the scope of the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Map (MIES), which aims to map initiatives with high potential for social innovation and entrepreneurship in Portugal. As the mapping process is now halfway of its methodology, there is no intention to make a profound qualitative distinction of the initiatives found, but rather to present some of those that admittedly contribute to the well-being and socio-economic development of the Porto Metropolitan Area (AMP).

Green areas sustainability is guaranteed by the proper use and management of the available natural resources, the adequacy of usage to the capacity of the spaces, the application of principles that can minimize the impact of construction both as far as the local and the global ecosystems are concerned, and the adoption of sustainable maintenance practices. The adoption of the principles referred in these Best Practices Booklets can also lead to the certification of green areas, as these principles integrate many of the standards required by certifying bodies.

Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation are on the public agenda and are seen as an investment for the future, supporting the creation of a society with greater well-being and sustainability. Based on the case studies with the highest international success in the area, but also on others from neighbouring areas such as technological innovation, it is possible to chart the critical steps to take as a region, so that it succeeds in its commitment to the sector. The Porto metropolitan region finds itself at an intermediate stage of this critical path, facing several challenges in the consolidation of the sector, but having already built important results.

One must look beyond the short term through a new development paradigm, transversal to all Member States and aligned with a clear mission: to relaunch Europe in the world. This is why Europe 2020 strategy was created, defining representative initiatives and measurable objectives to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The whole European strategy is based on common concerns shared by European citizens and to be successful it must be able to mobilise resources and assets at all levels. It is particularly relevant to take into consideration the recent Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation movement.

The AMP’s Tourism Maps and Tours are available on paper in the Tourist Offices of the AMP’s 17 municipalities.

The AMP’s Tourism Maps and Tours are available on paper in the Tourist Offices of the AMP’s 17 municipalities.

Each of the 16 municipalities that comprised the AMP when the project was developed got to choose a theme that represented a practice or a collection of cultural, religious/pagan practices or human activities identifying the community and constituting a tradition. The collection of information on each of these themes paid particular attention, not so much to the way they began, but to their development, current practices, and means of transmission to future generations.

As we know, education for some is a passion, for others, an ambition, for everyone a concern. But it cannot be the care of just a few when it comes to the actions it claims. For this reason, the sector represents a field where there is room for the convergence of many actors: students, of course; teachers; parents; municipal, regional and national authorities; even international ones; e entrepreneurs; sports and cultural leaders; religious authorities, where certain aspects of training are concerned; the media.

Seeking to define a metropolitan strategy for social intervention, the AMP’s Metropolitan Council of City Councillors for Social Intervention took the initiative to draw up a strategic plan for this area. The project “Strategic Reference Terms for Social Intervention in the Porto Metropolitan Area” is developed under a partnership established between the AMP and the Faculty of Psychology and Education Science of the Porto University (FPCEUP), basically assuming a set of criteria set in this field by the Social Network Program.

Assuming Education as a factor of competitiveness and social cohesion and defining it as a metropolitan strategy priority, the project of Elaboration, Development and Assessment of Municipal Educational Projects and of the Metropolitan Educational Project aimed at establishing systematic cooperation practices, through an evolutionary process and a dynamic of auscultation, participation, implication and commitment of educational actors, embracing the identity of each educational territory, and conceiving education as a factor of articulated and sustained development, inspiring and enhancing action and educational policies.

Our suggestion here is not of a linear, chronologic or exhaustive route through the life and work of Portuguese artists and creators in the last centuries, nor even a study visit to the history of Portuguese art focused on the region. This guide is meant to lead you to explore the territory, based on its protected artistic and architectural heritage, beginning in the 19th century, through unexpected experiences, and widening your knowledge on the life and some of the works of the region’s artists and architects.

Get to know Baroque in Porto’s Metropolitan Area and let yourself be dazzled by the light. This tour suggests a visit to some of the most representative museums and protected monuments from this period that can be found a little all over the area.

We suggest a distinctive journey to explore the counties of Arouca, Vale de Cambra, Oliveira de Azeméis, São João da Madeira, Santa Maria da Feira, Porto, Gondomar, Valongo, Paredes, Santo Tirso, Vila do Conde, Maia, Matosinhos and Espinho, getting to know their stories, unveiling their secrets, meeting their leading characters and even trying some of the Crafts and Industries in the Porto Metropolitan Area.

We suggest a visit to the most significant museums and protected monuments in the region located along the Portuguese Way. (…) If, on the one hand, this tour includes only a part of the region’s broad heritage closely related to the Portuguese Way, on the other hand it is not meant to be another guide to Compostela. It is a Heritage Tour that accompanies the St. James Way.