Balcão do Bairro

We aim to empower communities and individuals at risk of social exclusion to leverage the full potential of digital technologies. We support a social initiative led by the Intercultural European Club and Aga Khan Foundation, “Balcão do Bairro”.

“Balcão do Bairro” (BB) is a community-based walk-in service desk in Lisbon, designed to improve access to digital services by assisting those who struggle with using digital platforms, while providing computers and internet access for those who prefer to navigate them independently. Located in low-income neighbourhoods, BB is an initiative that improves accessibility through walk-in services, assisting residents with everything from obtaining a tax card to securing public housing. It works as an intermediary or “middle-out” institution, positioned between grass-roots efforts and institutional hierarchies.

The goal of the commissioned project was to assist a network of BBs across Lisbon in management, coordination, and impact assessment through digital technologies. The project was commissioned by the Intercultural European Club and Aga Khan Foundation. We co-created a web platform (https://balcao.dcitizens.eu/) and a series of online tools to support a community of practice composed of the BB network in collaboratively creating instructional materials, organising events, mapping community initiatives, and collecting/analysing qualitative data about BB’s impact. The project began in 2023, and the web platform is now managed by the Aga Khan Foundation, which utilises it as a training and coordination tool among all BBs.

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