Anti-rumour agents trained in Amadora’s school

In the framework of the Communication for Integration (C4i) project, the city of Amadora (Portugal) has been implementing a communication campaign focused on education and schools. The campaign aims to address the rumour identified through research at the city level that pupils with a migrant background lower the education level in schools. In Amadora, 60 per cent of the foreign residents, who represented 10 per cent of the city’s population in 2011, originate from Portuguese-speaking African countries.

As part of the campaign, 60 pupils of Seomara da Costa Primo secondary school were trained as antirumour agents. They identified the following rumours in the classroom: new students are never welcome, Spanish and Portuguese do not like each other, white people are believed to steel babies in Cape Verde, mathematics and Portuguese teachers earn more than other teachers, etc.

The pupils also participated in a debate “how do I see the others” where they were to mosaic their school mate using foodstuffs. Finally, they presented an anti-rumour song at the C4i 3rd Coordination meeting in Amadora on 12 December 2014 and expressed interest in joining more anti-rumour activities. According to scientific research conducted in Amadora as part of C4i, a secondary school with a majority of students of different nationalities was positioned among the eight best schools in the city in 2013. Similarly, about a quarter of the students awarded for merit and excellence were immigrants. Amadora strongly believes that excellence in education can only be achieved in an integrated and inclusive education system.