As part of its Pro Bono and Social Responsibility Programme, VdA has signed a Protocol of Collaboration with CRIAMAR - A Social Welfare Association for the Development and Support of Children and Young People. Dr. João Carlos Abreu, President of the Association, has expressed his satisfaction and appreciation to VdA for this initiative.

CRIAMAR is a privately-run non-profit institution whose main purpose is to offer material assistance and provide support services to children at risk, mainly in the Madeira Autonomous Region. The principal objective of this Association, set up by the Pestana Group, is to offer the children a universal intellectual development programme that, through various forms and means of artistic and cultural expression, will guide them along the path towards a healthy autonomous lifestyle, helping them to learn how to think and question the world around them and so channel them into a future in which they are upstanding, well-prepared citizens who are able to give back to the society in which they live, thus ensuring the ongoing improvement of this society.

Under this protocol, VdA will offer free legal support to CRIAMAR and to the projects being developed by this association.

Commenting on this protocol, the president of Criamar, João Carlos Abreu, remarked that an important collaboration agreement has been signed in the sense that it will allow Criamar to take significant steps forward in realising and developing those sustainable projects for which legal support is a fundamental component. It means that the partnership between the Association and VdA can immediately start making its mark on society.