According to data released by Eurostat in November 2023, 20.7% of Portuguese children under the age of 18 were living in poverty or social exclusion in 2022. Although these figures have fallen compared to 2021 (22.9%), Portugal is still one of the countries in the European Union with the highest poverty rate among children and young people.
On the other hand, 17% of the Portuguese were at risk of poverty in 2022 and the poverty or social exclusion rate was 20.1%. According to the INE, we could end up with around 37% of the Portuguese population living in poverty. In this sense, and according to Eurostat, it is clear that situations of risk of unemployment, poverty or social exclusion in adulthood are a direct consequence of exposure to these same circumstances in childhood through the respective family networks and socio-economic context, which lead children to have greater difficulty in achieving good school results, being healthy and realizing their potential. According to Nova SBE’s Social Balance 2023, adults whose fathers have only completed basic education are twice as affected by poverty as those whose fathers have secondary education, and only one in five people whose fathers have completed basic education are university graduates. This percentage is three times higher for adults whose father has completed secondary school.
The relationship between socio-economic background and access to education under equal opportunities has been widely studied, with differences between socio-economic backgrounds having an effect on student performance, and disparities in income and family background affecting student participation at all levels of education, from early childhood to higher education.
In addition, we are witnessing the stagnation of educational models, with curricula that do not keep pace with the transformation of our society, where everyone is called upon to learn at the same speed and with low knowledge retention rates. Also according to the State of the Nation Report 2023, around a fifth of young people with higher education are not working and, among those who are working, a fifth are allocated to jobs that ‘do not require an academic degree’, which shows a misalignment between the skills acquired and the needs of the job market.
Sonae – SGPS, S.A., true to its commitment to Education, is launching the 2nd edition of the Sonae Education Award, an initiative that aims to distinguish projects that improve learning models and access to them, at all stages of the learning cycle.
The aim is to support projects that promote innovative educational approaches and that, through education, qualification or retraining, contribute to mitigating factors of inequality or exclusion, thus fostering a more inclusive, empowered and resilient society.
The Sonae Education Award provides a total amount of up to €150,000.00, and the amount to be awarded to each project cannot exceed €50,000.00. Non-financial support will be tailored to each winning project.
The Sonae Education Award is intended to support projects promoted by any type of entity, whether public – including public schools – or private, with or without a profit motive, as long as they focus on the social impact of their intervention in the field of education, qualification or requalification. Each organization can submit one or more projects, as long as they are in line with the objectives of the Prize, but only one project can be awarded.
Projects cannot be submitted by individuals.
Projects promoted by (i) entities that are in breach of contract with Sonae – SGPS, S.A., (ii) entities that are de jure or de facto insolvent, (iii) manifestly unreliable entities.
The Sonae Education Award aims to distinguish projects that include the following characteristics, although it is not mandatory that they include all dimensions simultaneously:
In its first edition, the prize is intended to support projects at different stages of realization. Ideas with potential impact can be submitted alongside proven projects, seeking funding for their scale, replication or continuity. The use of the prize money must be clearly defined in the budget to be submitted.
The projects to be applied for, regardless of the stage of completion they are at, must define objectives and provide for activities during the monitoring period, which will last for a minimum of 12 months after the award of the Prize, to be defined within the framework of the non-financial support process (Clause Nona).
Applications must be submitted on the electronic form available here, between May 2, 2024 and June 30, 2024, and applicant organizations must provide only the information requested, with no additional information or attachments allowed.
All applications submitted by the set deadlines will be analyzed. Applications that meet the conditions of these regulations will be assessed using the criteria set out in clause seven.
By applying the criteria, a short list of candidates will be selected, from whom additional information will be requested and whose projects will be presented to the members of the Prize Jury.
At any stage of the assessment, candidates may be contacted for clarification or additional information.
The selection jury that will decide on the award is made up of representatives of Sonae – SGPS, S.A., together with members of entities with recognized competence in both education and impact investment:
All candidates will be informed of the final decision to award the Prize.
Candidates who are awarded the Prize will be asked to provide additional documentation, including:
The Sonae Education Prize will be awarded on the basis of the following general criteria:
The financial support to be awarded by the Prize will be up to €150,000, with each project receiving no more than €50,000.
In the project budget (to be submitted as an application) it must be clear how the prize money will be used.
Sonae – SGPS, S.A. reserves the right not to award all the prizes in the event that no applications are submitted that meet the requirements of these regulations.
For the purposes of determining the amounts of the Premium, the following rules must be followed:
In addition to the financial support to be awarded by the Prize, the model of non-financial support will be defined with each winner. In this process, Sonae – SGPS, S.A. can contribute through the integration of volunteers, mentoring processes or others adjusted to the objectives of each project.
The monitoring process will be defined at this stage, and should run for at least 12 months. The aim of this process is to support the fulfillment of the objectives set by the project, establishing the number of tranches in which the prize will be awarded. During this period, to be defined in a protocol between Sonae – SGPS, S.A. and each winner, information will be collected on the fulfillment of the objectives and, if possible, the definition of the bases for the impact assessment of each winning project.
The winners will be announced on www.sonae.pt and on www.premiosonaeeducacao.pt by November 15, 2024 and contacted directly by the email address provided in the application.
Sonae – SGPS, S.A. reserves the right to give visibility, in its communication channels, to all projects that submit an application for the Award:
All projects that submit an application will be able to communicate this publicly. The results of the Prize can only be disclosed after they have been publicly communicated by Sonae – SGPS, S.A.
Failure to comply with this principle may result in the Prize being forfeited.
The entity responsible for the processing of your personal data is Sonae – SGPS, S.A. with registered office at Lugar do Espido, Via Norte, 4470-150 – Maia, registered at the Maia Land Registry/Commercial Registry Office, under NIPC 500 273 170.
As the person responsible for the company’s application for the Sonae Education Award, and in the strict legitimate interest of Sonae – SGPS, S.A., in establishing a direct and agile point of contact, both for clarifying doubts and for sending communications, we will process some of your personal data, although preferably for strictly professional use – name, position, telephone/mobile number and e-mail.
Your personal data may be transmitted to partner companies (Subcontractors) whose participation proves indispensable to ensure the company’s candidacy and participation in the Sonae Educação Award, and it is certain that, whenever these companies process your personal data, in our name and on our behalf, we guarantee the same level of security and privacy in said processing.
Sonae – SGPS, S.A. may have to transmit your personal data to Competent Authorities, by legal and/or judicial imposition.
As the holder of personal data, you may, at any time, exercise your data protection rights – right of access, right to rectification, right to erasure, right to restriction, right to portability and right to object – via the following email address:
protecaodedados@sonae.pt
We will carefully analyze your requests, assessing their legitimacy and relevance, and pledging to respond within the legal deadline.
If you need to, you can also contact our Personal Data Protection Officer (DPO): dpo@sonae.pt
If you feel that we have not respected your rights, you can lodge a complaint with the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD):
Endereço: Av. D. Carlos I, 134 – 1.º, 1200-651 – Lisbon
Telephone: +351 213 928 400
Fax: +351 213 976 832
E-mail address: geral@cnpd.pt
Sonae – SGPS, S.A. reserves the right to alter, suspend or cancel the Prize, without any justification being required, temporarily or definitively, until the winners have been announced.
Sonae – SGPS, S.A. may amend these Regulations whenever, in its sole discretion, such amendments are deemed necessary or desirable, without prior notice, and the new rules will come into force after their publication.
Sonae – SGPS, S.A. cannot be held responsible for the cancellation, postponement or alteration of the Prize.
All cases not covered by these Regulations will be resolved by the Jury or by Sonae – SGPS, S.A., and this decision cannot be appealed.
No claims or appeals of any kind, legal or otherwise, may be made against the decisions of Sonae – SGPS, S.A. or the Jury in all matters relating to the Award, particularly as regards its attribution and regulation, given its strictly private, voluntary and philanthropic nature.
Sonae – SGPS, S.A. is not obliged to support any project if they consider that it is no longer appropriate for the purpose pursued or for any other reason that is not subject to justification or agreement by the applicants.
Sonae – SGPS, SA reserves the right to suspend the award if the winner(s) commit(s) acts or omissions during the monitoring period that are detrimental to its or Sonae’s reputation. This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication on the Sonae – SGPS, S.A. website.