National Institute for Rehabilitation
Planning, Coordination and Implementation of National Policies for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Applications for the Alert School! Competition 2025/2026 are still open
Until 28 February 2026, it is still possible to submit applications for participation in the ‘School Alert!’ Competition 2025/2026, an initiative of the National Institute for Rehabilitation, I.P., aimed at pre-school children and students and students in primary and secondary education, to promote projects and ideas that promote inclusion in schools and communities, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to participate. This competition, which invites children and young people, with the support of their teachers, to present projects that integrate the inclusion of people with disabilities, active citizenship and the culture of non-violence, is organised in three categories: Pre-School Education and 1st Cycle, 2nd and 3rd Cycles and Secondary Education. Projects ranked in the top three places in each category receive financial support – €2,000 for 1st place, €1,000 for 2nd place and €750 for 3rd place – as well as trophies and diplomas. The 2025/2026 edition takes place in the year in which the Single Strategy for the Rights of Children and Youth 2025-2035, approved by the Government in February, was published. The competition aims to involve schools in creating accessible and inclusive educational environments, ensuring learning and participation opportunities for all learners. It should be noted that the ‘School Alert!’ project was set up in 2003/2004 and has already involved more than 30 000 students, 4 000 teachers and more than 1 000 schools. In the 2024/2025 edition, 2109 students and 161 teachers from 28 schools from 11 districts participated, with projects on inclusion and accessibility. See the rules and conditions for participation in https://www.inr.pt/escola-alerta For a school where every person counts. For a school where every person makes a difference .
View highlight details Election Process of the National Mechanism for Monitoring the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Me-CDPD) and the Advisory Council (AC) with applications until 14 February
The National Institute for Rehabilitation (INR) makes available the Notice and the Order opening the electoral process for the next term of office of the National Mechanism for Monitoring the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Me-CDPD) and the Advisory Council (CC) and in accordance with Article 7(4) of Law No 71/2019 of 2 September 2019, which establishes the publicity of the start of the process for the appointment of the members of the Me-CDPD and the CC. Go to the Edital HERE and the Order HERE . The application process is open until 23:59 on February 14, 2026, and the candidate entities must consult the rules of the electoral process and submit their applications online, to the following address: candidaturas.mecdpd@gmail.com . Consult the Regulation HERE and the Application Form HERE .
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Project Finance Programme 2026: Provisional list of amounts to be financed
After approval by the Board of Directors of 23 January 2026 and in accordance with Article 8(4) of Regulation No 734/2025 of 16 June, the National Institute for Rehabilitation discloses the Provisional List of the amounts to be allocated to projects submitted to the Project Financing Programme by the INR, IP in the year 2026.
View highlight details INR promotes accessibility awareness session among design students at ARTE
The National Institute for Rehabilitation, I.P. (INR) participated, on January 16, in an awareness session dedicated to accessibility, held in the facilities of the Agency for State Technological Reform (ARTE) , addressed to students of the Master's Degree in Equipment Design Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon . The initiative was part of the curriculum project “Construction of the Ideal Day in the Citizen’s Shop” , developed in partnership with ARTE, and aimed to bring future designers closer to the issues of accessibility, inclusion and people-centred design. The session was structured in three complementary moments. In the first phase, with a sensitizing character, the participants were invited to “put on each other’s shoes”, through dynamics of role playing These allowed us to reflect on the difficulties experienced by people with different types of disability in a society that has often not been designed or built for everyone. In a second moment, of theoretical framework, an introduction was made to the Technical Accessibility Standards , approved by Decree-Law No 163/2006, with a particular focus on the concept of accessible route as the backbone of accessibility, underlining its importance in linking public space, buildings and services. The session culminated in a hands-on experience in the outdoor space, where participants were able to navigate the surroundings in a wheelchair and with their eyes blindfolded, making obstacles and constraints visible – albeit in a controlled context – that often remain invisible to those who do not experience them in their daily lives. In addition to the students and teachers involved in the project, the session also had the presence of technicians from ARTE and Cascais City Council , reinforcing the importance of collaborative work between public authorities, higher education and specialised technicians. With this type of actions, the INR reaffirms its commitment to promoting a culture of accessibility and inclusion, sensitizing future professionals to the responsibility that design, planning and technical decision have in the construction of truly universal public services.
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National Institute for Rehabilitation present in the ‘Kick-Off of the National Sports Development Plan’ in Porto
The presentation of the ‘Plano Nacional de Desenvolvimento Desportivo (PNDD)’ took place on Tuesday 20 January at 10.30 a.m. at Batalha Centro de Cinema in Porto. An initiative with the participation of Sónia Esperto, President of the National Institute for Rehabilitation (INR). In her speech, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, announced that the PNDD represents an investment of about 130 million euros, which is the largest ever in sports development. In addition to underlining that "plans are only important if they are implemented and we have already signed contracts with eight high-performance centres for requalification and modernisation", noting that 10 million of the PNDD are already being implemented. Also in the field of Accessible Sport, the Minister highlighted the strong commitment to the inclusion and expansion of sports, with specific funds for projects aimed at people with disabilities and to increase female participation in sport. "We are talking about five million euros for disability and about seven million euros to promote more women in sports," he said, adding that the Plan includes 44 measures and six strategic pillars for this purpose. Regarding high performance, Margarida Balseiro Lopes highlighted the reinforcement of Olympic, Paralympic and Deaflympic preparation programs, totalling 45 million euros, with increases of up to 70 percent in the case of deaflympic preparation. It should be noted that the National Sports Development Plan is a strategy to modernise the sports sector, promote inclusion and strengthen sports participation within 12 years.
View highlight details Interview with the President of the INR, I.P.: “School Alert!” - More and better inclusion in School and Community
The President of the Board of Directors of the National Institute for Rehabilitation (INR), Sónia Esperto, gave KOKORO - the association an interview on the ‘School Alert!’ competition, a project promoted by this Institute since 2003/2004, aimed at pre-school children and students in primary and secondary education. The interview was published in early 2026 and can be read HERE . More information on this INR project can be found here HERE .
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