About Us

We are a team that came together with the purpose of contributing to the enhancement and preservation of the authenticity of places in Portugal. To this end, we involve the local community through networking, with the aim of making Portugal a destination of Cultural Immersion.

OUR VISION

We want to satisfy the needs of our visitors without forgetting or obstructing those in the governing regions, protecting them and expanding their future opportunities. We do this through a set of experiences of immersion and sustainable tourism (idiomatic and literary) in order to make people more aware, autonomous, supportive and that responsibly assume the plurality of languages ​​and cultures.

We want to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. A world aware of its social problems and with solutions based on the recognition of its diversity and identity, an action for inclusion and a glocal thinking.

WHO WE ARE

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Carolina Mendes

CEO and Founder

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Raquel Meirinhos

Linguistic Facilitator
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Sofia Mesquita

Cultural Mediator

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WHAT WE DO

Stay to Talk – Cultural Immersion Institute is a social impact institution, based on the 2030 Agenda, created with the purpose of promoting and relating areas such as:

Education

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Tourism

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Investigation

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OUR JOURNEY

September 2022 Sub Label
SIGNature OF THE COOPERATION PROTOCOL BETWEEN THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES OF UNIVERSITY OF PORTO/ CITCEM - TRANSDISCIPLINARY RESERCH CENTRE "CULTURE, SPACE AND MEMORY" AND STAY TO TALK - INSTITUTE OF CULTURAL IMMERSION

Signature of the COOPERATION PROTOCOL between the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of University of Porto (FLUP) / CITCEM - Transdisciplinary reserach Centre "Culture, Space and Memory" and Stay to Talk – Institute for Cultural Immersion.

This protocol aims to develop collaboration in the fields of research, information and training, in the scientific, technological and academic fields.

July 2022 Sub Label
4th Anniversary of Stay to Talk

The Stay To Talk Institute celebrates its 4th anniversary and the motto was the launch of a new way of visiting Amarante, through an Artistic Immersion Experience.

Celebration Video

June 2022 Sub Label
STAY TO TALK – A COMMUNITY-BASED CULTURAL PROJECT, ONE OF THE WINNING STORIES IN THE 2022 EUROPEAN HERITAGE DAYS STORIES COMPETITION

On hearing about the Council of Europe and the European Union initiative, European Heritage Days Stories 2022, Stay to Talk – Instituto de Imersão Cultural was motivated to tell its story.

A European competition that gives a voice to the stories of the European Heritage Days and highlights the projects of the manyorganizations and associations participating in the event and their local achievements in enhancing cultural heritage.

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December 2021 Sub Label
Implementation of the Pilot Project Literary Route of Teixeira de Pascoaes

For the first time, Stay to Talk has implemented in Amarante a community-based literary route dedicated to the poet Teixeira de Pascoaes. 

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November 2021 Sub Label
Stay to Talk was awarded at VI International Conference on Cooperation and Integrated Governance

Stay to Talk and the community developed the collaborative activity "STAY AT HOME TO TALK ABOUT..." during the lockdown.

This activity was distinguished and exhibited at the "Museum of Good Practice in Cooperation during a Pandemic " at the 6th International Conference on Cooperation and Integrated Governance.

July 2021 Sub Label
3rd anniversary of Stay to Talk - Cultural Immersion Institute

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July 2021 Sub Label
Participation in the International Congress Tourism, History and Heritage: Commitments to the future

Stay to Talk had the opportunity to present its tourism product "Artists' Route" at the International Congress Tourism, History and Heritage: Commitments to the future.

A partnership initiative between História, Territórios, Comunidades, a hub at NOVA FCSH for the Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the University of Coimbra; Estoril Higher Institute for Tourism and Hotel Studies; Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning – UL; Foundation António Quadros – Cultura e Pensamento; and Cascais City Hall.

January 2021 Sub Label
Participation in the International Conference "Literature, Tourism and cities"

International Conference on "Literature, Tourism e cities" organised by the Centre for Comparative Studies, of the School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon and by the School of Management, Hospitality and Tourism, Univeristy of Algarve.

Stay to Talk was there and shared its work in the North of Portugal, within the scope of the Artists` Route.

November 2020
Participation in the GREENFEST

Stay to Talk Instituto was invited to be a part of GREENFEST - the largest Sustainability Movement in the country. Here we celebrate the best that is done in the Environmental, Social, Economic and Cultural aspects.

November 2020
Official presentation of the ROUTE OF ARTISTS

Through three Walking Conferences, Stay to Talk officially presented its Tourist-Educational product “In the Route of Artists: in search of beauty” that challenges the visitor through the life and work of six artists to discover the material and immaterial heritage of the North of Portugal.

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August 2020
1st Douro Verde Invest Award

In order to stimulate innovative entrepreneurship in the region, the Tâmega e Sousa Intermunicipal Community, through the Tâmega eSousa Economic Activity Support Network, promotes the 3rd edition of the contest “TâmegaSousa Empreendedor - Where ideas come true!” .

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June 2020
Stay to Talk Second Anniversary

May 2020
Awarding the Clean & Safe seal

Turismo de Portugal recognizes companies in Tourism that comply with the recommendations of the Directorate-General for Health to avoid contamination of spaces with SARS-CoV-2 (new coronavirus).

February 2020
Stay to Talk Institute considered as a new way of entrepreneurship in Tourism

MADE magazine is edited by InvestAmarante and aims to show cases of business success and entrepreneurship, introduce the players of Amarante's economy and spread incentives for business projects in the municipality.

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January 2020
Closing of the National Year of Collaboration

The National Year of Collaboration was a nationwide initiative, promoted by the Forum for Integrated Governance (Forum GovInt) and its promoters. Throughout 2019, it was intended to mobilize and inspire Portuguese society, through citizens and institutions for the strategic relevance of collaboration, both as a way of solving problems and optimizing available resources and for which Stay to Talk was invited to participate.

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July 2019
1st Anniversary of Stay to Talk - Cultural Immersion Institute

The Stay to Talk Institute being a social institution could only celebrate its first year in community.

April 2019
Participation in the 1st Edition of the Grow Innovation Acceleration Program

Stay to Talk had the opportunity to participate in this Program, which allowed it to grow in a participatory way.

April 2019
Baixo Tâmega's enogastronomic tour “Verde Sentido”

Stay to Talk Instituto became part of this enogastronomic tour.

October 2018
IRIS Social Innovation Meet Up 2018

Stay to Talk had the opportunity to present its project at the annual IRIS meeting, which aims to celebrate its 1st anniversary and share ideas, projects, networking and civil society inspiration in the ​​social innovation area.

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December 2018
III Diaspora Investor Meeting (2018)

Stay to Talk Instituto had the opportunity to present its project at the III Investor Meeting of the Diaspora, a joint initiative of the Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities and the Tâmega e Sousa Intermunicipal Community, in collaboration with the Penafiel City Hall and to carry out some networking.

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July 2018
Official launch of Stay to Talk – Instituto de Imersão Cultural with the community

February 2018
Stay to Talk was presented to the Minister of the Presidency and of Administrative Modernisation

Through the Regional Social Innovation Incubator (IRIS), we had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the Minister of the Presidency and of Administrative Modernization, Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, who started the Social Innovation Roadmap of 2018, in Amarante.

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January 2018
“Professor of Amarante develops project to teach Portuguese language and culture”

A report from Porto Canal that highlights the beginnig of the project and the focus that life stories are behind projects.

September 2017
Participation in the 1st Edition of B-Box

A pre-acceleration program for business ideas from the School of Technology and Management (ESTG), where the idea of ​​Stay to Talk evolved.

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July 2017
2nd Place “Ideias with Future”

The basic idea of ​​Stay to Talk - Instituto de Imersão Cultural was recognized by the Intermunicipal Community of Tamega and Sousa as having the potential to promote new products, productive processes, services, commercialization forms and / or market approaches.

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OUR PARTNERS

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Everything seems impossible until it`s done. (Nelson Mandela)

AND WE BELIEVE THAT WE DO BETTER IN PARTNERSHIP.

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CAROLINA MENDES

CEO and Founder

PhD in Educational Sciences with a major in Educational Management and Administration from the Catholic University of Porto (2017), Master in Educational Sciences from the University of Lisbon and graduated in Primary Education from the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre.

She has been pursuing her academic and professional activity in Portugal, Angola and Guinea-Bissau, highlighting: (1) the duties of teacher, coordinator and teacher trainer and adult training in Angola and Guinea; (2) experience in higher education teaching and supervising internships for teacher training; (3) experience of co-ordination of Portuguese Cooperation projects with the PALOP and consultancy and evaluation of adult training and international cooperation projects (4) business experience in Angola and Portugal in the areas of Education and Tourism.

She is the general director and founder of Stay to Talk – Instituto de Imersão Cultural (2017), a company of tourist animation and cultural programming that, by its definition and performance, has been considered a Sustainable and Social Innovation Project that is bringing to Portugal a new concept of tourism – idiomatic tourism implemented on a community basis. She likes reading and her passions are people and research.

RAQUEL MEIRINHOS

Linguistic Facilitator

Law degree from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, with a major in European Studies (2007). She deepened her contact with languages ​​by developing immersion learning in the local contexts and direct contact with the locals, collaborating with Amnesty International, first in Porto and then in London (2008). She worked at the Amarante Judicial Court and carried out European Volunteer Service in France (2011). She has been the English teacher at the Third-Age University of Amarante since 2014. Due to her experience with other people, her love of travelling and her extensive knowledge of languages, she joined Stay to Talk in 2018, leading the translation service in the Language Department. She loves travelling and volunteering is a passion.

SOFIA MESQUITA

Cultural Mediator

Master’s in History and Heritage, major in Heritage Mediation, from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Porto (2019) and a degree in Tourism from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (2015).
Two curricular internships – in the Interactive Tourism Store of Penafiel (2014) and Soares dos Reis National Museum (2014) were the first experiences in the job market.
After completing her degree, she worked as an interpreter guide for a tourist entertainment company, in Miragaia, for a year.
It was followed by five years of experience in the hotel industry as a receptionist and employee of a countryside hotel.
She believes heritage defines a people´s identity and defends the importance of research projects. In 2021 she joined Stay to Talk`s team as a cultural mediator.
She enjoys reading poetry, history books, photography and going for long walks in nature.

EducaTION

1 – We promote translation services and language teaching, (face-to-face sessions, online and / or through practical learning experiences).

2 – We develop training programs costumized to your needs, always with a practical and differentiating complement, which is to live Local Cultural Immersion Experiences.

3 – We carry out heritage education activities for different target groups, among others, families, schools and other educational institutions, as a local development strategy.

In this way, we propose to raise awareness not only to visitors, but also to the local community to the value of local identity, bringing different cultures closer together, promoting a better understanding among people and strengthening peace in the world.

Tourism

1 – Stay to Talk is a social impact institution with the main purpose of helping Portugal to become a sustainable tourism destination.

We believe that our action will contribute to the generate jobs and fair opportunities for locals, for the appreciation of traditions, culture and nature conservation.
We are proof that tourism can be a good experience for both tourists and locals.
2 – In Portugal, we are pioneers in Community Based Tourism based on values and practices of sustainable, cultural and creative tourism.

3 – We work with Portuguese culture and language through Literary and Art Tourism, always carried out in proximity to the local community implemented over a network of community cultural agents.
Thus, we propose to network in Tourism and Culture, adopting a cooperative stance in order to promote governance that encourages the economic and social development of the contexts where Stay to Talk intervention is felt.

INVESTIGATION

1 – We collect and treat evidence of local culture in order to embody original cultural products that can be experienced by those who seek them, namely, narratives of houses with history, structuring of tourist products, among others, consultancy.

Therefore, we propose to know the context in a scientific way, studying and collecting cultural evidence in order to work with a social purpose, namely, to involve communities and contribute to local development, inclusion and social cohesion.