Bissaya Barreto Foundation

The Bissaya Barreto Foundation is a private social solidarity institution of public utility. Its activities and mission areas include social protection for children, women, families and the elderly, as well as education, training and culture. The Foundation runs cultural venues such as the Casa Museu Bissaya Barreto and the Casa das Artes Bissaya Barreto, and it manages the Portugal dos Pequenitos park. It also administers the Civil Society Fund Portugal under the EEA Grants and awards the Bissaya Barreto Prize for Children's Literature.

The Bissaya Barreto Foundation is a private social solidarity institution of public utility. Its mission and intervention areas include social protection for children, women, families and the elderly, as well as education, training and culture. The Foundation celebrated its 50th anniversary on 26 November 2008, and its 60th anniversary in 2018. It operates cultural venues such as the Casa Museu Bissaya Barreto and the Casa das Artes Bissaya Barreto, the latter described as the city's art house since 2010. It also manages the Portugal dos Pequenitos park, which hosted the third edition of the "Artes no Parque" festival between 30 May and 10 June 2026. The Foundation administers the Civil Society Fund Portugal under the EEA Grants, which opened its first four calls with more than 4.3 million euros available for civil society organisations. It awards the Bissaya Barreto Prize for Children's Literature, whose 2026 edition was won by Raquel Costa's "25 Mulheres". The Nuno Viegas Nascimento Prize was established by the Board of Administration on 26 November 2008, in honour of the President who died that same year, and had four consecutive editions from 2009 to 2012 covering Education, Social Area, Health and Culture; it was revived in 2018 for a special edition on innovation in the Social/Child area, with a monetary value of 50,000 euros.

1. 1Página inicial - Fundação Bissaya Barretofbb.pt
2. 2O Prémio Nuno Viegas Nascimento - Fundação Bissaya Barretofbb.pt
3. 3Bissaya Barreto Foundationwikidata.org