Português
This was the first exit of the “Outros Campeonatos” (Other Championships). We planned to go playing street football in the Padre Cruz neighborhood with the Associação Nacional de Futebol de Rua (National Association of Street Football) and we went for a walk during all day. It was a heterogeneous group, which came out of Cabrinha, from small to grown up kids. O Lisbon Sustainable Tourism organized us a full day and there we went.
The game was only in the afternoon but we got up early in the morning and at 9 in the morning (more or less) there was everyone next to the vans that We Hate Tourism Tours made available to lead us towards the “Moinho da Juventude” (Youth Mill).
We were welcomed with open arms in Cova da Moura. The staff of Moinho showed us the neighborhood, explained to us what they are doing and the struggles they are fighting to continue to improve community organization. It was an opportunity to have contact with people who care about the same as us, who work for a community, who faces various problems and does not give up solving them, improving their lives as well as those around them. We came from there with a torn smile and some gifts in hand!
The morning was not over yet and we raced to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos to look at the map and find out where the countries we had just heard were during the visit (won by Joana Jacinto from Lisbon Sustainable Tourism, if you want to know).
The weather did not want to help the good mood but it could not put us down. We went to Monsanto to have lunch and play a little, before going to Padre Cruz. We started with a good mood on the way to the game that was promised.
In the “Associação Nacional de Futebol de Rua” they were waiting for us with the sympathy of always and showed that a lot of water in the ground is not a reason to not to play when we want. Between slips and slaps everybody played a lot and showed that street football is for everyone! Even the We Hate guys played a bit!
Those who did not want to play, took advantage of the urban art gallery of the neighborhood and went for a walk. The paintings are well worth the visit. It was also here that, very naturally, an interesting conversation arose among those present about what had been visited that day. How can people in Cabrinha implement initiatives similar to those they saw in Cova da Moura or Padre Cruz, in terms of community organization and initiatives for the valorization of public space?
It was a busy day and it was a good day. The next ones can come. On the 28th we visit the “Casa do Brasil”, in the Bairro Alto, again with the right to a walk around.
Outros Campeonatos is a project of Citizenship Academy, which aims to promote active citizenship in the community of Quinta do Cabrinha, in Alcântara.
Funded by the BIP / ZIP of the Municipaly of Lisbon and in partnership with the Town Council of Alcântara, the youth group “Ventos de Mudança”, the “Associação Nacional de Futebol de Rua” (Street Football National Association) and Lisbon Sustainable Tourism.
Outros Campeonatos promotes the social strengthening of the Cabrinha neighborhood, fostering community organization, capacity for local initiative and greater democratic awareness. It also develops an opening of the neighborhood to society in general, reinforcing its integration into the city. The main strategies of action are street football and tourism. Street football events attract neighborhood residents, to intervene and participate in their organization and implementation – with the facilitation of citizen participation tools and processes. The tourist visits help to rethink the neighborhood, opening the community to new experiences of citizenship.