A protocol of cooperation with Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa and the General Directorate of Higher Education was signed this Wednesday, 4th september, with 21 higher education institutions from all over the country.
NOVA University Lisbon is one of the 21 higher education institutions across the country that signed a protocol of cooperation with DGES and SCML to create “Valor T IES”, a collaborative network to support the transition to the labour market of university graduates with disabilities.
“Promoting the employability of people with disabilities, while also meeting the needs of employers, has been the main objective of Valor T since its inception”, affirmed the SCML provider, Paulo Duarte de Sousa.
This collaborative network will benefit from SCML’s experience with the Valor T-Talento e Transformação project, through which it has promoted the employability of people with disabilities together with its institutional partners, ensuring the necessary monitoring throughout the process.
“It has been three years of transformation to improve the employability of people with disabilities in Portugal, something that is a fundamental right,” said Vanda Nunes from Valor T, adding that “by extending this project to academia, we are expanding its future: Educating citizens means knowing how to be inclusive”.
The right of people with disabilities to equal opportunities, including access to the labour market and fair working conditions adapted to their needs, is enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights – in addition to being included in the National Strategy for the Inclusion of People with Disabilities 2021-2025, which reflects the objectives of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the recommendations emanating from European strategic documents on inclusion.
“This is the beginning of a very important journey,” said Joaquim Mourato, Director General of Higher Education, echoed by Fernando Alexandre, Minister of Education, Science and Innovation: “By guaranteeing access to education and equal opportunities, we are fulfilling democracy”.
This initiative therefore reaffirms the commitment of NOVA, represented at the ceremony by the Pro-Rector of Socio-Territorial Innovation, João Seixas, to promote the values of inclusion and equality, and to contribute to a fairer and more just society, in which people with disabilities can also see their skills, competences and talents valued.