Aproximar (APX) is a social enterprise, in form of social solidarity cooperative, acting as social innovation hub aiming to enhance people, communities and organisations’ human and social capital as a strategy to strengthen their capacity to deal with existing and emerging challenges and opportunities. The mission is accomplished daily by co-designing and developing tailor-made social innovation, good practices exchange, and transference driven projects, besides delivering its own pack of empowering and capacity building services: training, consultancy, and social intervention.
Aproximar works across four knowledge areas — Education and Community Empowerment; Economy, Employability and Entrepreneurship; Criminal Justice System; and Active Ageing and Dependent Care — with a team of trustees, staff and volunteers across Portugal and cooperation throughout the EU, Africa and South America. Our services reach thousands of people each year, including migrants, unemployed people, families, children and young people, (ex-)offenders and people with disabilities, older citizens, as well as hundreds of partner organisations.
We are a VET provider certified by General Direction of Employment and Labour Relations (DGERT) since 2015, and hold Erasmus+ Mobility Accreditation in Adult Education and recognition from the European Solidarity Corps. A growing part of our work focuses on digitalisation and blended learning to make skills development more inclusive and accessible across Europe.