Over the last five years (2018-2023), the "Work4Progress - Innovation to Promote Employment" program has reached a total of 38,600 people in the country, generating 4,613 jobs.

This is a program promoted by Spain's La Caixa Foundation and implemented in three countries. In Mozambique, it is developed through a network of partners made up of Ayuda en Accion, Cesal, Enraiza Derechos, under the local coordination of the University Foundation for the Development of Education (FUNDE).

The progress of this program in the country was made known during the platform's annual meeting, held on Wednesday, July 19, at the Polytechnic University in Maputo, under the slogan "Strategic Partnerships to Strengthen Platforms for Generating Employment, Work and Income".

The aim of this meeting was to identify and establish strategic partnerships to strengthen the platform in Mozambique, as well as to promote discussion on the current situation of job creation and quality work in the Mozambican context and its sustainability.

On the occasion, FUNDE's president, Lourenço do Rosário, praised the fact that the La Caixa Foundation and its partners in Mozambique are working under FUNDE's coordination, which demonstrates the trust they have in the organization: "FUNDE has been working in three fundamental areas, namely the environment, health education (nutrition) and other social areas," he said.

Meanwhile, he said, FUNDE has already been involved in other social projects, one of which was the resettlement of people on the railway line linking Tete to Nacala, through a program financed by Vale Moçambique.

"It was a complex program, but we successfully managed to ease some of the conflicts arising from the resettlement."

For his part, the Secretary of State for Youth and Employment, Oswaldo Petersburgo, considered that the academy should be the place where young students not only seek technical-scientific knowledge, but also shape themselves as people and obtain the foundations to become exemplary citizens, excellent professionals and excellent entrepreneurs.

In this respect, he emphasized, "we challenge the Work4Progress platform to work ever more closely with the government, through the employment sector, specifically with the National Employment Institute (INEP), providing a real and practical example of the synergies that this forum advocates and seeks".

Also present at the meeting was the representative of the La Caixa Foundation, Her Royal Highness Dona Cristina de Borbón, who pointed out that for over 20 years Mozambique has hosted more than 50 projects that benefit more than five million people:

"Work4Progress doesn't think in terms of isolated projects. It's an innovation platform that connects players and actions in a more efficient way, with a clear focus on results and sustainability in the medium and long term," he concluded.