Live it Lisbon! - Summer Volunteer Programme

Live it Lisbon! is a social program aimed at people who want to live, work and create bonds with people from all over the World. The program consists of partaking in volunteer community work here in Lisbon, and will allow you to contribute to helping communities in the city of Lisbon. As well as the community work, you will benefit from Portuguese cultural classes, which will allow you to learn more about the culture of Portugal and this amazing city, and from cooking workshops, which will allow you to add recipes from other countries while having fun with the other participants.

Live it Lisbon! is a project that is being organised and created by a widely recognised NGOs in Portugal, who specialise in international mobility. The idea behind Live it Lisbon! is to give the opportunity for participants to experience a culture other than their own through community work, language classes and cooking workshops, also while sharing the experience with the other participants.

During the program you can expect to learn about the social needs of our community, and also experience Lisbon in its beautiful summer glory. The program is not all about work though! Other activities will be arranged for the participants. We have a fully kitted out hostel for accommodation purposes, in which we will conduct group cooking activities, evening entertainment and social activities. With Lisbon being a city full of fantastic sights and beaches, it would be ideal for the participants to experience these during the program. We want to leave our participants with a legacy that they will benefit from. We hope that they will learn about themselves, other people and the communities in which they will help.

Live it Lisbon! offers a remarkable opportunity for development. This will be shown in a certificate provided at the end of the program. Do something different with your summer, with Live it Lisbon!

Activities & dates

The Live it Lisbon! Summer Volunteer Programme is about volunteering, culture, Portuguese language, food and tourism. 

During the mornings participants will work with the association staff and local people for the maintenance of the neighbourhood by cleaning and painting the walls, cleaning the streets and promoting attitudes towards recycling. Furthermore activities with local kids may be organized; for example you may organize and participate in sport tournaments, inclusive workshops on various topics, according to your interests, and language tandem in which you can practise your Portuguese and they can practise their English skills.

In the afternoon participants will have the opportunity to take part in Portuguese culture workshops and cooking workshops. Everyone will get the chance to participate in two culture workshops (2*3h, for a total of 6 hours). These workshops might include language workshop, cinema sessions, dances, music etc.

Depending on the overall number of participants, everyone will get a chance to participate in one or two cooking workshops. The cooking workshops will be held by Spin’s long-term international volunteers from all over Europe and you will have the chance to make some traditional dishes from their countries. Participants’ tastes and requests will be taken into consideration and it would create a positive exchange if participants shared their national recipes, too. If you would like to lead one of the workshops yourself, contact us in advance and we will do our best to make it happen! :) At the end of the stay, all participants will receive an e-book containing the recipes used during the program. This activity is meant to be participative, so don’t be afraid to make your hands dirty!

Most nights will be free and the city centre can be reached by bus, metro, night bus or by Uber/taxi (which costs about 10€). Nevertheless some night activities can be organized according to participants’ request, for example there is the opportunity to organize a movie night, a party, an intercultural night in which everyone will share some food, drink and music from his or her country. If so desired by the participants, a farewell party may take place at the hostel during the last night.

Participants are entitled to four fully free days. Nevertheless Spin provides optional tourist trips which may require some extra expenses (only for transfers and entrance to monuments when required).

The first option is Lisbon sightseeing and entrance to the São Jorge Castle, which is offered by Spin. On this day Spin also provides you with a day transportation pass in order for you to explore the city centre easily.

Spin also organises one free day with an optional trip. There are several possible places depending on the groups preference:

Cabo da Roca

To visit the town of Sintra with its numerous magnificent palaces and its beautiful nature that together have made it a UNESCO World Heritage site. From Sintra it is easy to reach Cabo da Roca, where the ocean meets the westernmost extent of continental Europe. If you want to visit these spots, you will have to pay for your own tickets: a two-ways train ticket Lisbon-Sintra costs about 4,30€; the entrance to the castle and the park costs 13€; a two-way ticket Sintra-Cabo da Roca costs around 8€. Anyway, if you have one, we suggest you to bring your European Youth Card which will allow you to get discounts.

Beach day

Summer will be coming, and we want to give everyone the opportunity to see the ocean. So we plan on going to Costa da Caparica. We will stay there the whole day and visit the small village. The ticket to go to the beach costs 5 euros one way. It is also possible to participate in surfing classes, just let us know if you are interested! (prices are around 30-50 euros for one class).

All these trips are one day long and on those days we will have packed lunch.

There could be minor changes due to the neighbourhood needs regarding the volunteering action and the participants’ tastes and requests regarding the cooking workshops’ menu.

Santos Populares in Lisbon

June is the best time to visit Lisbon: all the city is awake and ready to celebrate summer, and especially Saint Anthony. On the night of the 12th all the city is ready to celebrate and dance until sunrise. There are many things happening these days: the parade (marchas populares) in the city centre, or the big weddings in the Cathedral of Lisbon (Sé). This will be an unforgettable experience for everyone!