The award ceremony took place at the Casa da Música in Porto, where Fernando Carlos Ribeiro, Head of the Presidency's Cabinet, accepted the award on behalf of the municipality. This recognition, which assessed work carried out during 2024 and 2025, acknowledges the municipality's transversal and multidimensional approach to social inclusion and the deconstruction of prejudice.
The award reflects the municipality's consistent performance since the initiative's inception in 2012. In this edition, which saw the highest number of participating municipalities ever, Póvoa de Lanhoso stood out for its achievement, winning the award in all six applications submitted.
Inclusion policies are implemented through the SIGO – Service for the Promotion of Gender Equality and Opportunities, established in 2010 and aligned with the Municipal Plan for Gender Equality and Opportunities (PMIGO). SIGO operates on the ground by providing support, counseling, and referrals for victims, coordinating with local entities, and mobilizing partners.
In parallel, the service promotes equality education initiatives from childhood, such as the «Equality, Citizenship and Human Rights» project, and organizes awareness-raising actions in school and community settings, aiming to foster more conscious and participatory citizens.
The municipality of Póvoa de Lanhoso positions itself as an "agent of development and a privileged entity for implementing actions and measures that enable the territorialization, identification, and local appropriation of the ENIND objectives and National Action Plans," demonstrating responsibility and consistency, as evidenced by this latest award.
