Knowledge and skills bring us closer to a better future

At Fundação José Neves our mission is to transform Portugal into a “knowledge nation”, through education and human development.

Our Foundation is meant to be disruptive and improve lives.

Our ambition is to help elevate Portugal's position in international rankings of education and human development within the next 20 years.

We believe that, in order to join the world's most developed countries, we need a distinctive strategy and invest considerable resources that will allow us to make an impact in areas that are essential for everyone, such as education, citizenship and social equality.

My commitment as Founder is to provide the Foundation with two-thirds of my assets during my lifetime, so we can pursue our mission. We will concentrate the Foundation's resources on education, with a strong focus on the skills of the future and the digital world, to anticipate and prepare for the changes that lie ahead.

By making knowledge the engine of transformation for a better future, we are opening the door to a more developed Portugal. We will invest in education with a particular emphasis on making lifelong learning a social norm, increasing access to knowledge and developing the personal and professional skills of those willing to join our movement.

We want our enthusiasm to reach all areas of activity. Portugal may not have the natural resources to compete globally, but it does possess the human potential and intellectual power to compete for leadership status in the digital world.

Our strategic vision is anchored in four pillars that guide our activity:

1. Advance access to education. Through innovative and non-profit student financing, we are broadening access to quality education and future opportunities, with a strong focus on lifelong learning and human potential.
   
2. Develop the skills of the future, by identifying and promoting them at every stage of life; by raising awareness of the importance of reskilling and upskilling; and by becoming a driving force in the field of education.
   
3. Challenge our educational status quo, by spotlighting new ways of teaching that will accelerate our society’s transition into the digital age; by making lifelong learning the social norm; and by aligning what people learn with the challenges of the future.
   
4. Promote the importance of personal development, and of the intellectual and spiritual dimensions of knowledge, strengthening our human, moral and ethical dimensions, and raising awareness of the core values that guide us as a society.

This has been the journey of our founding team, a path open to everyone. The strategy Carlos Oliveira, António Murta and I set for the Foundation is based on the same entrepreneurial spirit, strategic vision and passion that have always guided our personal and professional lives.

Our mission is to be a force of change and contribute to Portugal's transformation into one of the most developed countries in the world. We will do so following a set of values that are changing the way companies and institutions are managed. It is not enough to succeed in “what” we do; we must also succeed in how we do it.