On May 7, 2025, the auditorium of Aldeia de Santa Isabel welcomed around 50 young trainees from level 2 CEF courses, who spent about an hour discovering the «Palavras que Contam» (Words that Count) project.
Sérgio Xavier, from the Aga Khan Foundation, presented the key ideas behind this pilot project and, drawing on a handful of concrete examples, answered the questions raised by the trainees. The session’s main purpose was to gauge the interest and willingness of ASI trainees to take part in the project.
«Palavras que Contam» is an initiative supported by Portugal Inovação Social. Its main goal is to publish 50 narrative works — in formats such as graphic novels, prose, poetry or illustrated books — created over one year by 50 young people from communities under-represented in the country’s publishing world, in particular those for whom Portuguese is not a first language.
It is an innovative project with potential for nationwide reach: lifting youth reading rates, building social and intercultural skills, giving visibility to and valuing diversity, and promoting social cohesion and pluralism.
The key message passed on to the young people of ASI was simple and uplifting: «it doesn’t matter if Portuguese isn’t your mother tongue — what counts is your willingness to tell your own stories!»
Originally published at asi.scml.pt.
