Who we are?
Founded in 1991, FORMEM is a Federation that represents, currently, 49 organizations who support persons with disabilities (PwD) in their professional qualification and labour aspirations. Our affiliates are distributed all over Portugal and our head office is in Coimbra.
FORMEM management structure is composed by a 5 element Board of Directors, 3 element Audit Council, and 3 element General Assembly officials, which are elected every 3 years by the affiliates of the Federation.
What we do?
As an umbrella organization in the field of social inclusion, our action is focused on getting the best outcomes, in the changing environment, for the PwD and the organization we directly represent. To operationalize that we: As an umbrella organization in the field of social inclusion, our action is focused on getting the best outcomes, in the changing environment, for the PwD and the organization we directly represent. To operationalize that we:
Shape and influence public policies towards vocational training and employment of PwD, in cooperation with the public bodies such as the Portuguese Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) and the National Institute for Rehabilitation (INR).
Empower the endogenous capacities of our affiliates, promoting a spill-over effect towards the social sector in general, by developing a variety set of sharing and learning activities. Our benchmarking and benchlearning dynamics, that started in 2012 using as main guidelines the requirements set by EQUASS - European Quality in Social Services, are a good example how the sharing process can improve quality and accountability of the support given to PwD.
Disseminate and produce knowledge in the field of vocational training, employment, and quality of life for PwD. FORMEM’s Academy, our annual one-week conferences and debates (everyday with different subjects and speakers), presents itself has a mark of this effort.
FORMEM has also an active role in civil society, either in Portugal and in Europe, where we believe that genuine learning and sharing expertise can be driven forces for a more inclusive, effective and efficient society. For instance, at national level we are part of the consultative board of the Disability and Human Rights Observatory, and at European level we participating on the HiLives Project, co-funded by Erasmus+ Program of the European Union.