Faro Municipal Library hosts public presentation of urban redevelopment projects created by students
On June 13th, the Faro Municipal Library auditorium hosted a public presentation of urban redevelopment proposals developed by 8th-grade students from the EB 2,3 D. Afonso III School, as part of the international project MC-YOU – Minecrafting Resilient Cities. During this session, seven proposals for the transformation of four public squares in the city were presented to the public and the competition jury. These proposals, created using the Minecraft Education platform, aim to promote more sustainable, accessible, and resilient cities. The community was invited to vote.
This presentation marks the culmination of the local implementation of the MC-YOU project, which involved 40 students from the 8th B and 8th C grades of the EB 2,3 D. Afonso III School, aged 13 to 15. Through a participatory and interdisciplinary pedagogical process, which began in 2024 at that school, the young people were challenged to imagine new uses and configurations for the city's urban spaces, applying the principles of sustainability and resilience. With the support of the local government, seven public spaces with potential for intervention were initially identified: Tânger Square, José Afonso Square, António Sérgio Square, Largo das Mouras Velhas, Pontinha Park/Liberdade Square, Municipal Market Square, and Eng.º Duarte Pacheco Square. The students chose four of these locations as the focus of their projects, which are now up for voting: Tangier Square, José Afonso Square, António Sérgio Square and Eng. Duarte Pacheco Square.
The MC-YOU – Minecrafting Resilient Cities project is an Erasmus+-funded initiative that aims to engage young people in the sustainable and resilient urban design of their cities, using the Minecraft Education educational platform. The project is coordinated by the Belgian organization Out of the Box International and includes the participation of the municipalities/pilot cities of Faro (Portugal), Sandanski (Bulgaria), and Riga (Latvia), as well as four European organizations linked to youth and sustainability: INA/YEPP Europe (Germany), CESIE and LINK DMT (Italy), and the Union of Baltic Cities (Poland).
The activities will continue until the end of 2025, celebrating the power of creativity, citizen participation and young people's commitment to the future of their cities.
