The Development of Skills in Building Life Projects for Young People in Care in Portugal: A Perspective on the Ubuntu Leaders Academy

Institutional care in Portugal faces the challenge of integrating a growing number of young people – nationals, immigrants and unaccompanied foreign minors – requiring responses adapted to their individual and cultural needs. This study investigates the impact of socio-emotional skills development programs in care contexts on the construction of life projects and the transition to adulthood for these young people. The research focuses on the "Ubuntu Leaders Academy" program, which is shown to be an innovative social tool in strengthening skills such as Self-awareness, Self-confidence, Resilience, Empathy, and Service, directly impacting the preparation of young people for autonomous living.

The investigation focuses on two objectives: (1) understanding how institutional care is promoting adequate interventions to support the development of autonomous life projects, and (2) analyzing the perceptions of young people who participated in the Ubuntu Leaders Academy training in 2023. Data sources include interviews with participants, legislation, and reports.

The results show that the development of socio-emotional skills, promoted through the “Ubuntu Method”, had a significant positive impact on the autonomy of the young people in care, providing a critical reflection on how transformative education, in partnership with educational institutions and non-educational actors, can promote effective and co-constructed interventions (Timóteo and Bertão, 2012). This study contributes to the debate on social innovation in education, demonstrating that collaborative initiatives between the social and educational sectors play a vital role in adapting education to the demands of inclusion and social transformation.