Português
Academia Cidadã issues the following right of reply, to be disseminated by the media outlets that published the aforementioned article (Sol / jornal i):
It was with considerable surprise that the Associação Academia Cidadã (AC) found its name, and that of one of its projects – Linha Vermelha – mentioned in the aforementioned article. The opinion piece, masquerading as genuine journalistic work, adopted a sarcastic, accusatory, and conspiratorial tone, which naturally raises suspicions and sows confusion regarding the various informal collectives and associations it cited. Furthermore, the “journalist,” Inês Dória Nóbrega Teotónio Pereira Bourbon Ribeiro, didn’t even bother to contact our association or the project. All she needed to do was visit the Academia Cidadã website, where our contact details are readily available.
To claim that Academia Cidadã acts “like an umbrella” for all the collectives mentioned is simply untrue. All the organisations cited in the “news” are entirely independent. Academia Cidadã neither is, nor aims to be, an “umbrella” for anyone. We collaborate with various civil society organisations and movements because we firmly believe that cooperation is essential for collective progress.
Taking the fact that João Labrincha, one of Academia Cidadã’s founders, was a candidate for president of the Oliveirinha Parish Council, and then inventing that this means Academia Cidadã is controlled by the Left Bloc, is as true as claiming the journalist writes at the behest of the CDS-PP, of which she was a Member of Parliament. Drawing such a conclusion reveals a fundamental lack of understanding of how civil society and social movements operate and support each other.
Notwithstanding the official and institutional nature of Academia Cidadã (a non-profit association, formally registered on 15 May 2012, with organised accounting), we greatly value cooperation with both formal and informal citizenship movements and civic participation, whether spontaneous or organised. Academia Cidadã was born in the wake of the Protesto da Geração à Rasca, the largest civic demonstration organised in Portugal without the backing of political parties or trade unions. Living in a democracy means people are free to express their opinions, form collectives and cooperation platforms, and organise demonstrations – be it in the streets, online, in workplaces, schools, neighbourhoods, cities, or villages.
Writing in a “news article” that the Left Bloc “is the party (…) from which some of its activists come or to which they go” is yet another fabrication, for which the “journalist” presents no facts or sources to support statements such as “it is the party that announces its actions.” Academia Cidadã issues press releases and public statements, which are sent to all media outlets and news portals. We are not responsible for their replication in partisan propaganda outlets.
What truly connects these collectives, associations, and movements is not their funding sources (which are, in fact, far more diverse than those mentioned), but rather their shared respect for human rights and their collective determination to fight for a better world where no one is forgotten, left behind, devalued, or discriminated against. Tracking the origin of funds that finance civil society is considerably easier (and more transparent) than tracing the investment funds that acquire newspapers like Sol and i. In turn, civil society organisations such as Academia Cidadã maintain public and transparent accounts and disclose their financiers. Above all, through their predominantly voluntary daily work, they strive to fill the gaps left by the state, which has been systematically impoverished, particularly during the PSD-CDS-Troika government, of which the “journalist” was a parliamentary supporter.
Linha Vermelha is an information campaign focused on climate change and the environment. Its target audience comprises non-activists, particularly the elderly and young people, who often have limited access to information on environmental issues. Knitting serves as a thematic thread for discussing serious subjects. We collaborate with individuals from across the country, representing all democratic political spectrums, religions, and beliefs. When the journalist refers to a network of organisations but only mentions a select few, “forgetting” others, she misleads her readers. Our partners include community centres, residents’ associations, local markets, local knitting groups, among many others that Linha Vermelha and Academia Cidadã work with, and which the “journalist” either chose to omit or simply couldn’t be bothered to research.
Academia Cidadã aims to promote active citizenship and build the foundations for development based on principles of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Beyond the Linha Vermelha project, Academia Cidadã has developed projects on the protection of the rule of law, the defence of the right to protest and association, the right to housing, LGBTI+ rights, anti-racism, and civic empowerment for adults and young people in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.
All this information, including our contacts, governing bodies, activity reports, and financial statements, is publicly available on our website: www.academiacidada.org. Academia Cidadã also publicly declares its activities and funders in the European Union Transparency Register, where its profile can be found under number 396619394501-67.
Contrary to basic professional practice, the “journalist” failed to contact anyone from Academia Cidadã or Linha Vermelha to obtain answers to her questions. It would be important for her to remember the Editorial Statute of the newspaper for which she works: “i is guided by principles of rigour, impartiality, honesty, and respect for human beings. i may take political positions, but it makes a clear distinction between opinion, analysis, and news. i values news exclusively for its journalistic value, not for its possible political, social, or economic impact.” And, above all, that she comply with dignity with the Code of Ethics for Journalists, namely, in its Article 1: “Journalists must report facts with rigour and accuracy and interpret them with honesty. The facts must be verified by listening to the parties with interests in the case. The distinction between news and opinion must be clear to the public.”