100 thousand euros is the amount that the Municipality of Portimão made available to finance the four most voted proposals, for a maximum amount of 25 thousand euros each, from the Youth Participatory Budget (OPJ), launched this Monday, August 12th.
The official presentation of the first edition took place in “Aldeia”, a restaurant space, cultural center and accommodation located in the old part of the city, where Álvaro Bila, president of the Chamber, reinforced that this is an initiative that “marks a significant step in the journey towards strengthen the participation and involvement of young people in building a better future for all of us».
According to the mayor, “we live in a time in which youth play an increasingly vital role in the decisions that shape our society, and the dynamism, creativity and innovative spirit that characterizes them are a powerful force that we want to channel for the benefit of the community ».
Álvaro Bila considers that the participation of young people in decisions that affect the municipality “is an important strategy, to ensure that our policies and initiatives truly reflect the needs and aspirations of young people”.
At the end of the presentation, the mayor invited all young people from Portimão «to participate with enthusiasm, to present their ideas and to be part of this movement for change, as we are eager to see the positive impact that your projects will have and to work with you in building an even brighter future for this territory».
According to the municipality, the OPJ is based on a participation model of a deliberative nature and was designed to contribute to the implementation of the Municipal Youth Plan of Portimão (Local Strategy for Youth 2020-2030), in terms of its strategic dimensions .
To this end, the OPJ covers the thematic areas of culture, leisure and sport; access to housing; health and risk behaviors; education, training and school leaving; employment, entrepreneurship, innovation and tourism; others of recognized public interest.
Participations, individual or collective, are accepted from young people who study, work, live or are native to the municipality, aged between 12 and 30. Participation rules can be consulted on the Chamber’s website
The OPJ, which covers the three parishes of the municipality, will be implemented in partnership with the digital platform MyPolis, which already collaborates with the municipality in the development of projects that encourage the democratic participation of young people in local policies aimed at youth.
After the announcement of the project, which runs until September 30th, the training and support phase for young people will take place between October 1st and 31st to prepare and submit proposals electronically on the MyPolis platform (mypolis.eu), through the community “OPJ Portimão 2024”.
From November to December 13, the technical analysis of the proposals will be carried out, carried out by a commission made up of municipal technicians in the different areas covered.
Between December 9th and 13th, proposals considered eligible will be presented, followed by the respective voting, from January 8th to 31st, 2025, while the results will be publicly announced on February 11th.
As part of Young March 2025, the process of implementing the four most voted proposals on the ground will begin, which will have to be completed by the end of the year.
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