Maria Armanda Gonçalves is a sociologist with a master’s in Applied Theatre. Currently, she works for the Município de Setúbal (Setúbal City Council) in the Housing Department. This Department develops alongside the community the Programa Nosso Bairro, Nossa Cidade (Programme Our Neighboord, Our City).
This public Programme sets the vision and strategy to manage a territory comprising five public housing estates in a participatory way. Hence, the community self-organises to achieve its goals and becomes increasingly empowered and autonomous. Within the Programme framework, a Community Theatre Group has been a demand expressed in the Community Assembly. This group is currently exploring theatrically public space, waste disposal and relations with street cleaners. The vision for the group is to create an intergenerational theatre company. They are being offered artistic training to achieve this vision, empowering them to become theatre makers and cultural producers.
