The 2nd edition of Construir Pontes took place at SONAE in MAIA

It was on May 20, the GRACE team, members of the Board of Directors and partners headed north for another inspiring moment of volunteering and citizenship.

A moment of sharing that began with a visit to the Sonae Campus in Maia, our host. A campus that represents the Group's positioning and is an example of sustainability and innovation.

After a guided tour, the participants had a training session with Pista Mágica about volunteering as a tool for acquiring skills. As well as clarifying the importance of this practice for acquiring skills and involving employees in their organizations and communities, the importance of a structured programme was reinforced, with clear and transparent strategic axes and an approach to impact, which should be measured by the companies that promote it. Some challenges remained: how to measure the impact on employee skills development? How to validate the causal link between volunteering and skills development. However, there was no doubt about its relevance, the way it involves employees, puts them at the forefront of corporate social responsibility and promotes more active citizenship. Many partner companies and organizations shared good practices and challenges, and we ended up learning about the practical case of SONAE and Banco Alimentar, a clear example of alignment in the fight against hunger and the promotion of quality food.

After this training session and lunch on campus, we kicked off the 2nd edition of Building Bridges, while several social organizations set up their displays not only show off some products, but above all, to share their mission with the attendees - AMI, APCC, Apadrinha uma Oliveira, ASPEA, Associação Cuidadores, Banco alimentar, Bioliving, CASA Porto, Espaço T, Just a Change, Montis, Movimento Defesa da Vida, Pedrinhas, SAOM.

The event was kicked off by Daniel Fonseca from SONAE and Marta Bastos dos Santos, a GRACE board member representing EDP and co-coordinator of the Citizenship & Volunteering Cluster. Daniel gave us a better understanding of SONAE's areas of activity and, in particular, corporate volunteering.

The first panel was moderated by Bárbara Vasconcelos, a member of the GRACE Board, representing INCM and Cluster Co-Coordinator, with the following guests: Raquel Castello-Branco (Porto City Council), Mafalda Teixeira Bastos (Stand4good), João Pinto Ribeiro (BBDouro) and Miguel Neiva (ColorADD) to talk about partnerships with impact. We saw the world in different colors, sailed up the Douro on a boat without barriers, focused on combating inequality in higher education in the job market and talked about social innovation projects. The common denominator - dreams that gain wings with partnerships.

After this moment, GRACE challenged Mário Linhares, from Ad Gentes, to come and present the Zambujal 360º Project in the north of Portugal, in the knowledge that there are projects that should be replicated. So Mário took us to Bairro do Zambujal - which is going to be the first SDG Neighborhood. This entrepreneur and drawing teacher saw art as a way to bring people together, to remind us all of the importance of contributing to the SDGs and how the stories of the neighborhood itself represent many of these goals. None of this would be possible without dedicated artists willing to get involved with the community and without taking the time to do it... if we really want to support a community, we must truly know it, understand it, and Mário has done that better than anyone.

The coffee break led to another networking moment and was served by SAOM, a social organization that supports the reintegration of various elderly and young people with its various services.

Then we joined Catarina Oliveira for a world without barriers, a world that understands that dependence is not a lack of autonomy, that not all disabilities are visible and that we must fight a paternalistic culture. Disability is not lie in inability, but in the barriers we create.

Finally, we moved on to a round table, moderated by Afonso Borga, from Auchan, Cluster Co-coordinator (with the Galp Foundation) to finish with the theme that kicked off this day, skills volunteering. This panel included Carmo Themudo (Catholic University of Porto), Joana Moreira (Transformers / Reformers), Gonçalo Duque (JAP - Junior Achievement Portugal) and Inês Melo (Critical Software). We learned about the Academy's innovative projects, which aim to connect the corporate world with the social sector, we saw how young people learn best when they follow their dreams and how seniors can still dream, we saw how there are organizations nominated for Nobel Peace Prizes that transform the lives of millions of young people and how the skills of our employees can help enhance the mission of various entities.

See you in October for the 3rd edition of this event whose ultimate goal is to build bridges, those connections that separate two shores that sometimes seem far apart, but are so close!