Migrantour Lisbon recently held a new training course for intercultural guides, bringing together participants from diverse backgrounds, such as China, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Angola, Mexico, and Iran.
In light of the social and political changes in Portugal and in the Mouraria neighborhood, we felt the need to rethink our tours. The goal remains to showcase different cultures and combat prejudice, but we now also seek to include reflections on more complex and current issues that have a major impact on the lives of migrant communities. Among them are the recent changes in migration and regularization laws, as well as the lack of adequate responses in key areas such as housing and public health — issues that are particularly visible in the neighborhood and that contribute to situations of vulnerability.
This process has been a true challenge: we want to continue valuing and sharing the cultural richness of different communities, while also giving voice to the difficulties and obstacles they face in their daily lives.
The work of Migrantour Lisbon was recently featured in the newspaper A Mensagem de Lisboa, in an interview that can be read here >link<. By the end of the year, we already have several tours scheduled, some of them funded by a program of the Lisbon City Council, which allows us to offer free experiences to anyone who wants to discover this intercultural perspective of the city.