São João da Madeira is situated north Portugal, 30 km south from Oporto. The Municipality is member of the Oporto Metropolitan Area and the International Association of Educating Cities. The City Hall is designed according to the different areas of influence and needs of the city. Below the President/Mayor we have the leaders for six areas: Education, Culture, Social Affairs, Urbanism, Economics and Environment. In the Education we are related to pupils from Pre-Primary Schools, Schools of First, Second and Third Grade, Secondary Schools and a School for Adults – Life Long Learning. Our facilities see more than 6000 students studying daily. Our main objective is also the vocational training of youngsters and the entrepreneurial projects, with training courses for teachers and students. Since 2005 we are the coordinators of the “Educational Municipal Project” (“Projeto Educativo Municipal”), a network of institutions, enterprises and schools. The Project-plan includes currently more than 40 activities and programs.
The city hall made a development plan for the period 2010-2015. One of the priorities is the Education for the Entrepreneurship and that’s why we have several projects regarding this issue. Since 2007, the “Education Municipal Project” and our school network organize the program “Entrepreneurial Schools”, with training sessions to teachers and students. This program is recognized and credited by the Portuguese Ministry of Education. Since 2009 we are partner of a URBAL III Project, related to entrepreneurial projects between Europe and Latin America. These two former and present experiences will, for sure, contribute to enrich this Comenius Regio project.
The City is also coordinating a network of “Industrial Tourism and Culture”, involving factories, schools and cultural resources, such as the Hat Museum.
Comenius Regio Dinant & São João da Madeira 