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On 9 March next the President of the Republic completes three years of his mandate. To observe the date the President decided to carry out a further campaign of the Route to Inclusion, the fifth, dedicated to Unemployment and New Risks of Poverty, which will be held in the counties of Barcelos, Braga and Porto.

The Route to Inclusion results from a “civic compromise” propounded to the Portuguese by the President of the Republic, on 25 April 2006, with the intention of reducing the numerous situations of need and social exclusion which have for long been conditioning Portuguese social life and limiting its development towards a fairer, more equitable and more cohesive society.

Throughout the four first campaigns and after balancing the results, the issues have been identified, and at the same time the existing but scarcely disseminated good practices, that allow us to become convinced that there is no determinism or any plausible reason for us to become resigned in the face of the difficulties then experienced.

Many of the topics then dealt with gained greater highlight with public opinion and greater attention from the Portuguese: the knowledge of the inequalities in the distribution of income, the deep regional disparities and the threat of desertification and ageing in vast areas of the Country; the role that can be achieved by handicapped people should inclusion opportunities arise, the relevance of volunteering and of the civic solidarity organizations in the fight against exclusion and poverty, and the way we treat children, women who are victims of domestic violence and the aged; the contribution of immigrants to create wealth and the challenges of their social integration; the concern with regard to the weakening of family ties or the drastic reduction in birth rate, as factors which limit greater social cohesion and dynamism.

The time has come for the President to appeal once more to the equitable strength of the Portuguese. The serious economic and financial crisis we are going through has increased the risks of poverty and social exclusion. The unemployment of thousands of Portuguese and the excessive indebtedness of families is throwing into poverty many who, until a very short while ago, never thought they could be subject to such deprivation. Situations of lack of sustenance, of non compliance with personal obligations, of suspending the attendance of kindergartens and schools are growing in disproportionate numbers.

It is for these new poverty risks and situations of social emergency that the President of the Republic wishes to call the attention of the Portuguese. It is for those who are now living difficult times that the President of the Republic wishes to address a word of solidarity and hope.

The visit to the counties of Barcelos, Braga and Porto is framed within the number of issues we have brought forward. The President of the Republic, in the 5th Campaign of the Route, will start by hearing a deputation of workers and trades union officers which are representative the Vale do Cávado Region, where some of the industries which are facing greater difficulties are located. This deputation will include representatives from the textile, ceramics, civil construction and metallurgical sectors.

Notwithstanding the many difficulties, there are companies which have been able overcome and surmount the adversities. This is the case with SILSA, a textile company which exports its total production and has a marked rate of growth. The President of the Republic will visit its facilities and hold a working meeting there with a deputation of entrepreneurs from the textile, clothing and shoemaking sectors, which export a large proportion of their product and employ a large number of workers in the region.

During the morning the President will also visit the facilities of the Food Bank against Hunger in Braga. Set up last year, this Food Bank has been providing growing help to the solidarity institutions of the region and to the more needful families, through teams of volunteer workers who, using the neighbourhood networks, render food supply services. It is with some of these teams that His Excellency the President of the Republic will hold meetings to hear of their activities and of the situations of lack of food which they witness.

The afternoon will be dedicated to two institutions headquartered in Porto.

The first will be the Diocesan Structure for Social Promotion and the unit which services the Pasteleira Quarter, especially the facilities dedicated to children. The social aid work which they have been developing in the Porto Diocese within the scope of emergency social aid deserves much merit, with special highlight for the actions developed by the local Caritas organization and that of the Diocesan Structure for Social Promotion. In the city of Porto, the combined intervention with the Municipality has favoured a presence in the quarters where families have more difficulties and especially targets infants and the aged.

The second institution to be visited will be AMI – International Medical Assistance, which has for long enlarged the scope of its social activity through the Porta Amiga (“Friendly Door”) centres, which nowadays cover the greater part of the Country. In the case of Porto, its actions are now spreading to the differing sectors of population which are facing lack of food, poverty and social exclusion.

The President of the Republic will close this campaign in the AMI Art Gallery.