Informing without Dramatizing: new school project on rare diseases

As part of its Educational Programme, the i3S CGPP (Center for Predictive and Preventive Genetics), recently established a protocol with the association “Doenças Raras-Portugal” with the aim of implementing the “Informing without Dramatizing” project in schools in the north of Portugal. This will start later this school year, on a pilot basis, in a 6th grade class in the municipality of Maia.

Aimed at children and young people, from pre-school to secondary education, the project “Inform without dramatizing” has the objectives of teach children and young people to understand and deal with rare diseases, not to discriminate against people with rare diseases and/or with a disability, and learn to integrate differences into their daily lives. At the moment it has been implemented or is being implemented in more than 40 educational institutions.

Despite the program being designed for several target audiences, during this year’s pilot activity, i3S researchers will have the 2nd cycle as a target audience. “We are going to start by providing face-to-face training, in the classroom, to teachers interested in the subject, so that they can then develop the activity with the students”, explains Milena Paneque, the main driver of this partnership.

The i3S team of trainers will be made up of specialists from the Center for Predictive and Preventive Genetics (CGPP) and this unit will also finance the materials that will be distributed to students participating in the first 25 classes enrolled in this initiative. As of September, it will be possible for other schools in the North to register by accessing the i3S Educational Program website, Ciência et al.