The Oliveira do Hospital, a Friendly Municipality project aims to actively integrate foreign residents into the local community. It encourages their participation in the design, planning, implementation, and evaluation of activities.
Problems and Purpose
The Oliveira do Hospital, a Friendly Municipality project aims to address the emerging challenges posed by growing social dynamism in the municipality, characterised by an increasing number of foreign communities living in the area. Among these, social integration, civic participation and the active involvement of these communities in local life are particularly noteworthy. Through the project, the local authority aims to address these challenges, as well as to enhance the positive impact of the immigrant population in the area. Rather than merely being tourist destinations, the aim is for rural areas to be places of residence and centres of economic and business dynamism, contributing to the strengthening of social cohesion and regional development. The project is based on the active participation of foreign citizens in the design, planning, implementation and evaluation of activities.
Background History and Context
Oliveira do Hospital (OHP) is a municipality located in the Central region, in inland Portugal. Covering an area of 234.53 km², it currently has a population of around 19,000 people, of whom more than a quarter are aged 65 or over. In 2013, at the time the project was launched, the municipality had around 700 registered foreign residents.
In response to the structural challenges common to areas with low population density, such as demographic ageing and depopulation, the municipality committed early on to promoting participatory practices, which it viewed as essential tools for strengthening social cohesion and sustainable local development. Indeed, the municipality already had a rich history of promoting democratic participation, embodied in various participatory structures and mechanisms. These include numerous Municipal or Advisory Councils, various Participatory Budgeting schemes, and the “Open Day” initiative, designed to consult residents directly. This track record demonstrates an institutional culture geared towards participatory governance, through the active involvement of local communities in decision-making.
Since the 1980s, the municipality of OHP has been welcoming citizens from various European Union countries, a trend that has intensified over the years. The arrival of these new residents, who bring with them new skills, experiences and motivations, has highlighted the need to establish specific mechanisms to welcome them and integrate them into the local community, enabling their full participation in the civic, social, and economic life of the municipality.
It was against this backdrop that, in 2013, the municipality of OHP launched the ‘Oliveira do Hospital, a Friendly Municipality’ project, based on a participatory, community-led approach. This initiative serves as a platform for welcoming, supporting and advising new residents, promoting intercultural dialogue and the development of initiatives across a range of areas, including culture, language learning, tourism, social participation, active citizenship, economic activity, and environmental sustainability, whilst also facilitating an understanding of how local government works.
At the time, the municipality was home to a significant diversity of resident communities, mainly from countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Romania, with a growing number of citizens from Portuguese-speaking African countries. The choice of the municipality as a place of residence was, in many cases, linked to the quality of life, natural resources and opportunities associated with rural areas.
In this context, the ‘Oliveira do Hospital, a Friendly Municipality’ project has played a pivotal role in the policy of integration and regional revitalisation. By encouraging the involvement of foreign communities in local life, it has sought to address their needs, whilst also recognising their contributions to local development. The initiative aimed to bring together people, investment and economic dynamism, thereby helping to mitigate growing demographic challenges and to ensure the sustainable use of local resources.
The initiative is linked to the High Commissioner for Migration’s Mentors for Migrants Programme, the Oliveira do Hospital Social Development Plan, the Municipal Equality Plan, the Local Volunteer Bank, the PAASI – Integrated Social Support and Monitoring Platform, the Local Social Network, Local Agenda 21, and the Investment Support Office.
Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities
The ‘Oliveira do Hospital, a Friendly Municipality’ project is run by Oliveira do Hospital Municipal Council. Given its cross-cutting nature, it is carried out in collaboration with other local authorities and municipal services.
Participant Recruitment and Selection
The initiative is aimed at all foreign citizens residing in the municipality.
Methods and Tools Used
The project’s methodology is based on a participatory approach structured around two complementary components: the Community Forum and the Support Office. The Community Forum is the initiative’s main mechanism for participation. Bringing together the local authority and community representatives on a regular basis, it serves as a forum for dialogue where needs are identified, and integration strategies and actions are defined and organised into different thematic groups. For its part, the Support Office provides monitoring, advice and administrative support to foreign citizens, facilitating the processing of applications with public services, supporting investment initiatives and clarifying issues across a range of topics.
The project is based on a participatory, bottom-up approach, in which foreign nationals themselves play a central role in the design, planning and implementation of activities, with support from the local council, institutional partners and volunteers. The actions carried out are the result of proposals discussed at the Forum. Subsequent evaluation is carried out through the direct involvement of participants and the wider community, using tools such as surveys, interviews and the collection of feedback.
What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation
The foreign communities living in OHP were the main drivers behind the promotion, planning, and implementation of the initiatives developed. In the initial phase, the project was presented at a public session aimed at the foreign population, with the aim of raising awareness of the initiative and encouraging the target audience to participate. Publicity was reinforced through the production and distribution of materials in different languages, as well as through the creation of a dedicated website, the distribution of information at strategic locations, and the use of various communication channels.
Foreign communities also contribute to the dissemination, acting as information mediators within their networks, in addition to their role in the design and development of initiatives. Furthermore, municipal staff provide support through the Support Office, offering various forms of assistance, notably in the organisation and facilitation of the Community Forum.
Numerous activities were carried out in partnership with tour operators and local organisations, and participation took place in national and international events, such as the Emigration Fair in the Netherlands, the In Festival – Innovation & Creativity, EXPOH – the Regional Fair of Oliveira do Hospital, and the Lisbon Tourism Exchange.
Influence, Outcomes, and Effects
The ‘Oliveira do Hospital, a Friendly Municipality’ project has been contributing positively to the attractiveness of the territory, economic dynamism, and efforts to foster social cohesion in the municipality. The initiative was able to reach its target audience and contributed to attracting and retaining new residents in the municipality. The project also allowed for the promotion of the economic potential of these communities, establishing them as economic agents in the municipality, especially in the tourism sector, where new rural tourism ventures have emerged.
In general, the initiatives developed contributed to the enrichment of the civic, cultural, and economic life of the municipality, promoting multiculturalism and quality of life. The project became not only a platform to combat depopulation but also a dynamic territorial marketing strategy. The project integrated several initiatives recognizing good practices and was distinguished by the University of Minho within the scope of UMCidades.
