How education is empowering social inclusion in ortugal

AN URGE FOR SOCIAL INCLUSION

A society is only as rich, cohesive and evolved as those who participate in its development and the greater the access to the benefits and opportunities it provides. The vulnerability, economic or educational for instance, of various fringes of society is a barrier to achieving this ideal. Promoting social inclusion, that is, integrating less privileged people and ensuring they have access to basic rights such as health and education, is essential for building a fairer and more equitable society.

It was based on this premise that, in 2006, the then President of the Portuguese Republic, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, challenged civil society to develop joint initiatives between the government and private sector to promote social inclusion in Portugal. That same year, a group of more than 100 entrepreneurs and managers responded to the call by creating the EPIS – Entrepreneurs for Social Inclusion association. The Jerónimo Martins Group is one of the association’s founding companies and has been a member of its board since 2011.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE FUTURE

EPIS fulfils its purpose of social inclusion through education. Its intervention projects aim at fighting early school dropout and underachievement, from pre-school to higher education, and at promoting good management practices in schools. This work is carried out in close partnership with the Portuguese Ministry of Education, regional governments and local authorities, with the support of dozens of Portuguese businesses.

The EPIS Social Scholarships programme was launched in 2011 to strengthen the association’s mission and provide a more robust response to inequality of opportunities in accessing and attending higher education. The programme aims to empower students from less favourable socio-economic backgrounds with high academic merit, awarding them scholarships. The goal is for them to be able to afford to continue their studies and build the foundations for a more promising future.

EPIS social scholarships offer monetary aid and enable scholarship students to participate in a mentoring programme with volunteer employees from partner companies who advise them on the development of their career paths. Scholarships are also offered to schools with the best citizenship and sustainability projects for the school community.

Between 2011 to 2024, EPIS has recognised 131 schools and institutions for their good social inclusion practices, and awarded 1,179 scholarships to students, made possible with the support of 86 social investors and 89 individual donors, corresponding to an investment of over two million euros.

All schools, institutions and students attending secondary, post-secondary and higher education in Portugal can submit their application. Each application is carefully assessed by a jury comprising members of EPIS, the Directorate-General for School Establishments (DGEstE), the Directorate-General for Education (DGE) and the investment companies.

The 14th edition of the EPIS Social Scholarships programme was held in 2024, with the awards ceremony taking place at the Champalimaud Foundation in Lisbon, where a packed-to-capacity audience of students, teachers, family members, friends and investors applauded the 239 scholarships awarded with emotion and pride. This 14th edition saw a social investment of more than 500,000 euros and had 44 social investors, one of which the Jerónimo Martins Group.

JERÓNIMO MARTINS AND EPIS, A LONGTIME PARTNERSHIP

The Jerónimo Martins Group has been a member of EPIS since its foundation, mainly supporting the EPIS Social Scholarships programme. Since 2020, the Group’s support is channelled primarily into the ‘Sustainability and Active Citizenship’ category, which each year honours five school projects aimed at raising awareness, mobilising and transforming behaviour relating to healthy eating, the environment and community support.

In 2023, the Group added the special category ‘Jerónimo Martins Scholarships’ to its investment, to award academic merit scholarships to students and encourage them to continue their studies from secondary school to a Master’s degree, over a maximum period of eight years. This scholarship rewarded 14 students but saw investment double in 2024, with 28 scholarships being awarded.

Support is not just monetary. Students are accompanied by volunteer mentors from the Jerónimo Martins Group and their intervention and training monitored by EPIS mediators.

Among the initiatives recognised in the 14th edition of the EPIS Social Scholarships Programme, the project IAS – Índice de Alimentação Saudável (HEI – Healthy Eating Index) led by the Pombal School of Technology, Art and Vocational Training (ETAP) stood out in the ‘Sustainability and Active Citizenship’ category, supported by the Jerónimo Martins Group. Bruna Monteiro was one of the undergraduate students honoured in the special ‘Jerónimo Martins Scholarships’ category for her academic merit. Learn more about these two stories here.

Over 18 years of partnership, Jerónimo Martins has also supported EPIS in other initiatives, namely by offering food kits and internal know-how for workshops and talks on a wide range of sustainability topics. Initiatives include EPIS volunteers’ meetings; activity weeks, in which young people with high academic achievement can attend talks by Group employees, visit the Pingo Doce store in Telheiras, and the Incluir Centre (a Jerónimo Martins Group inclusion project); the EPIS bootcamps; and workshops and diners to promote the Mediterranean Diet and Portuguese gastronomy. In its support for EPIS Social Scholarships, the Group has awarded 26 school projects and 24 students who were involved in it since 2020 and awarded 42 students with a merit scholarship since 2023, in an investment of more than €120,000.