AproXima-te Award 2025
Regulations
Article 1
Presentation
- The 5th edition of the AproXima-te Award is entitled “Communities that Care.”
- The AproXima-te Award is an initiative of Plano AproXima and the Social Responsibility Department of Classificados X, hereinafter referred to in these Regulations as the “Organization.”
- Plano AproXima is the entity responsible for organizing the Award and all its stages.
- The sponsor of the AproXima-te Award is Classificados X.
- Through this Award, the Organization commits to financially supporting collectives, projects, and entities that provide services to sex workers and to clients of paid sex.
- The Award will be promoted on the Plano AproXima website, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as on the Blog X of Classificados X.
- The public announcement of the official opening of the AproXima-te Award will take place on July 2, 2025.
- The awards will be presented in person, whenever possible and when agreed by the parties.
Article 2
Awards
- The awards available, with a total value of €27,000, consist of financial support for the applications selected as winners and will be distributed as follows:
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1st Prize — €12,000 to the entity with the highest application score.
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2nd Prize — €7,000 to the entity most voted for by the public.
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3rd Prize — Honorable Mention — €4,000 to the entity selected by Plano AproXima.
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4th Prize — Honorable Mention — €4,000 to the entity selected by Plano AproXima
2. The financial support will be made available by bank transfer, after the disclosure and acceptance of the award(s), on a date to be agreed between the parties.
3. For the award(s) to be paid, each winning entity must issue a receipt to the funding entity for the corresponding prize amount.
Article 3
Purpose
These Regulations aim to:
a) Define the rules for the 1st Prize:
i ) Establish the rules for awarding the 1st prize;
ii) Describe the procedures for submitting applications;
iii) Define the evaluation methodology.
b) Define the rules for the 2nd Prize:
i) Establish the rules for awarding the 2nd prize;
ii) Describe the procedures for selecting the winners through online voting.
c) Define the selection of the 1st and 2nd Honorable Mentions.
Article 4
Selection of the 1st Prize
Submission of applications
Entities must explain in their application how the prize amount will be used to implement an activity, campaign, or other practice that strengthens solidarity, active participation, and collective response capacity.
Community-based entities, projects, or collectives that provide essential services to sex workers will be distinguished; however, projects that also respond to vulnerabilities of other subpopulations will be valued.
Applications may be submitted between July 2, 2025 and September 30, 2025 via the following form:
https://forms.gle/uxdzDdqw4N3iXTD49
a) The Organization is not responsible for non-receipt of applications by the established deadline.
b) Branches or local units of an entity are considered distinct entities. Therefore, the same organization may submit different applications, provided they relate to different branches. Only the most recent submission will be considered in cases of multiple applications per branch.
c) To track applications, interested entities must have a Gmail account and be logged into Google when completing the form. This prevents duplicate applications.
d) Submission of an application implies acceptance of the rules of these Regulations.
e) All private, non-profit institutions, entities, collectives, or other civil society organizations at regional or local level that provide direct services, within mainland Portugal or the Autonomous Regions, to people who engage in sex work are eligible.
f) Institutions belonging to the National Health Service, the Directorate-General of Health (DGS), the Central Administration of the Health System (ACSS, I.P.), Regional Health Administrations (ARS), the Regional Directorate of Health of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, and the Regional Secretariat of Health of the Autonomous Region of Madeira are not eligible.
Evaluation:
a) Applications will be evaluated by an impartial panel with exclusive access to previously anonymized proposals through the assignment of an identification code. Each jury member will assign a score from 0 to 3 to each evaluation parameter. The scores will then be summed by a representative of Plano AproXima. The proposal with the highest score will be declared the winner.
b) The winning entity will be the one with the highest score.
c) Evaluation Grid
Parameters are scored on a scale from 0 to 3, where “0” represents the minimum score and “3” the maximum score.
Table 1 — Parameters and evaluation grid
|
Parameters to be evaluated |
Pondering |
|
|
1. Experience of the Promoting Entity |
5% |
|
|
2. Clarity and Coherence of the Proposal |
15% |
|
|
3. Expected Impact |
3.1. Beneficiaries |
5% |
|
3.2. Results |
5% |
|
|
4. Feasibility and Execution |
4.1. Plan of Action |
10% |
|
4.2. Organizational Capacity |
5% |
|
|
4.3. Budget |
10% |
|
|
5. Innovation e Creativity |
|
10% |
|
6. Participation |
|
20% |
|
7. Coordination and Networks |
|
10% |
|
8. Monitoring and Evaluation |
|
5% |
|
Total |
|
100% |
d) Applications will be assessed by an independent panel composed of eight members knowledgeable about the evaluation criteria.
The evaluation panel consists of:
— Alexandra Oliveira (Professor and Researcher at the University of Porto);
— Rita Alcaire (Postdoctoral Researcher at CES, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra);
— Ana Rosa (Master’s in Anthropology and PhD fellow in Gender Studies — ISCSP-UL);
— Luís Pimentel (Clinical Psychologist);
— Raquel Guidi (Senior Social Education Officer and Human Rights Activist).
e) Each entity’s score will be adjusted according to the weightings assigned to each general evaluation criterion, with final scores based on the sum of the scores for each parameter listed in Annex 1 to these Regulations. Any item left unanswered in the general evaluation criteria will receive a score of “0” in the final weighting.
f) In the event of a tie, the tie-breaking criterion will be the sum of the scores obtained by the tied applications in the following evaluation parameters, in order of importance:
“Coordination and Networks”;
“Participation”.
g) If the tie persists after applying the criterion set out in point f) of this article, the panel will award the prizes after a thorough reassessment and detailed analysis of all the information contained in the applications and responses of the tied entities.
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The winning entities will be notified by email and phone call by October 16, 2025.
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The winners will be announced on October 17, 2025 on the communication channels of Plano AproXima and Classificados X.
Article 5
Selection of the 2nd Prize
The entity, project, or collective that wins the 2nd Prize will be the one that obtains the highest number of votes, exclusively through online voting carried out on the Classificados X platform.
Participation in the vote is restricted to advertisers with an active account on the website for more than 4 months as of the start date of the campaign. Each advertiser may vote only once during the voting period.
The winner of the 2nd Prize will receive €7,000.
Voting will be available between July 2 and October 14, 2025, exclusively for the advertiser community of Classificados X.
-
Entities eligible for voting correspond to partner associations of Plano AproXima up to June 30, 2025. These associations have as their main target population people who engage in sex work, as well as other vulnerable subpopulations. All are part of the public mapping available on the official Plano AproXima website, totaling 28 entities:
1. Acompanha — Cooperativa de Solidariedade Social, CRL
2. AJPAS — Associação de Intervenção Comunitária, Desenvolvimento Social e de Saúde
3. APDES — Porto G — Agência Piaget para o Desenvolvimento
4. APF — Associação para o Planeamento da Família
10. Associação 6
11. Associação Portuguesa para a Prevenção e Desafio à SIDA- SER+
12. Associação Positivo — Red Light
13. Bússola — Casa do Povo de Fermentões
14. Cáritas Diocesana de Coimbra
15. Centro Comunitário de Esmoriz — Dá a volta
16. Crescer — Associação de Intervenção Comunitária
17. SMACTE (Serviço Móvel de Apoio à Comunidade)
19. Fundação Portuguesa “A Comunidade Contra a SIDA”
20. GAT — Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos
21. Liga Portuguesa Contra SIDA
22. MAPS — Movimento de Apoio à Problemática da Sida (MAPS)
23. MTS — Movimento Trabalhadorxs do sexo
24. Médicos do Mundo
25. Mundo a Sorrir — CASO
26. Obra Social das Irmãs Oblatas de Santíssimo Redentor
27. Porta Aberta — Emprego Primeiro
28. SAOM — Serviços de Assistência Organizações de Maria
5. Branches or local units of an entity will not be considered distinct entities.
6. Entities will be listed in alphabetical order on the form.
7. The entities correspond to private non-profit institutions and civil society organizations, at regional or local level, that provide direct services, within mainland Portugal or the Autonomous Regions, to people who engage in sex work.
8. Voting on the Classificados X website will be limited to one response per advertiser. Each advertiser may vote only once for their favorite entity, to ensure fair and representative voting.
9. If an advertiser attempts to vote more than once, they will receive a message informing them that they have already voted, also indicating the prize awarded and the chosen association.
10. If a participating advertiser selects the option “I do not know any association,” their vote will not be counted for the purposes of determining the winner of the 2nd Prize. However, their participation will remain valid so that the advertiser may receive the Roulette prize.
11. The entity that wins the 2nd Prize will be notified by email and phone call by October 14, 2025.
12. The winners of the online vote will be announced on October 17, 2025 on the communication channels of Plano AproXima and Classificados X.
13. In the event of a tie, the jury will award the prize to one of the most voted entities
Article 6
Honorable Mention Prize
The Honorable Mention awards will be given to two associations that, although not winners of the 1st or 2nd prizes, have stood out for their work over the past year in favor of the rights of people who engage in sex work. This analysis will be conducted by Plano AproXima.
The winning entities will be notified by email and phone call by October 16, 2025.
The announcement of the winners will be made through the communication channels of Plano AproXima and Blog X, with due justification.
Article 7
Exclusion criteria
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The jury will not consider applications that:
a) Are submitted after the competition deadline;
b) Come from entities that do not fall under point e) of Article 4 of these Regulations and that do not have legal personality.
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Online votes submitted outside the competition period will not be considered.
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Applicant entities rejected after administrative and eligibility analysis will be informed, by email, of the reasons for rejection at this stage and may appeal this decision within 5 working days after receipt of the email.
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The jury has the authority to decide not to award the Prize to projects if it does not recognize the necessary quality in the applications.
Article 8
Disclosure of results
Results will be first communicated to the winners, by email and phone, by October 14, 2025.
The official announcement will take place on October 17, 2025 through the Organization’s communication channels, including the official Plano AproXima website, Instagram, Facebook, and Blog X of Classificados X.
Article 9
Confidentiality
The Organization ensures full confidentiality of the information provided in the voting form, the application form, as well as any other information shared throughout the voting processes.
Article 10
Final provisions
Any questions regarding these Regulations should be sent by email to the Organization at
Article 11
Annex 1
Scoring of parameters
Each parameter will be scored from 0 to 3, where “0” represents a very weak evaluation and “3” represents an excellent evaluation. Parameters are weighted according to their relative importance, taking into account the objective of the award.
|
Very Weak |
Weak |
Good |
Excellent |
|
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Experience of the promoting entity and team
0 — Does not present a description of the entity or relevant experience.
1 — Presents a brief description and experience in social areas, but without direct links to sex workers or contexts of exclusion.
2 — Presents some experience with sex workers or projects focused on social justice and community health.
3 — Presents a clear mission and solid, ongoing experience with sex workers and/or in contexts of social exclusion, with a focus on human rights, social justice, community health, and/or empowerment.
Clarity and Coherence of the Proposal
0 — Does not present objectives, activities, or expected results; shows no connection to the theme of the edition.
1 — Objectives are unclear, activities poorly structured, and justification weak in relation to the theme; little articulation between needs, actions, and resources.
2 — Clear objectives and reasonably structured activities; partial relevance to the theme and some coherence between proposal and context.
3 — Objectives and activities clearly described and well structured, with strong alignment to the theme “Communities that Care: Bringing Together, Empowering, Transforming,” and solid demonstration of coherence between identified needs, proposed actions, and available resources.
3.1. Beneficiaries
0 — Does not identify project beneficiaries.
1 — Beneficiaries identified, but with vague or poorly substantiated estimates.
2 — Beneficiaries identified with reasonable estimates, but without clear distinction between sex workers and other community groups.
3 — Beneficiaries clearly identified, with well-founded estimates and clear differentiation between sex workers and other community members involved.
3.2. Results
0 — Results are vague, nonexistent, or not clearly linked to improving living conditions or the rights of sex workers.
1 — Results are unclear and weakly linked to empowerment, inclusion, or the promotion of care.
2 — Results are defined and have potential impact, but with limited or inconsistent justification.
3 — Results are well defined, with transformative impact and solid justification on how they will promote rights recognition, empowerment, inclusion, combating stigma, and building cultures of care.
4.1. Action Plan
0 — Does not present an action plan or presents a very vague plan, without describing activities, timelines, or locations.
1 — Action plan partially defined, with unclear activities and no link to implementation strategies or community participation.
2 — Reasonably structured plan, with activities and timeline described, but with gaps in defining locations or execution strategies.
3 — Well-detailed plan, with clear activities, realistic timeline, defined intervention locations, and solid implementation strategies, based on community participation, empowerment, and shared care.
4.2. Organizational Capacity
0 — Does not present a team description or demonstrate the entity’s experience.
1 — Organizational capacity unclear or limited, without relevant elements to support implementation of the proposal.
2 — Adequate organizational capacity, with a general description of the team and demonstration of experience in the field.
3 — Organizational capacity well evidenced, with a clearly identified team (including, whenever possible, sex workers), and solid and relevant experience of the entity and proponents.
4.3. Budget
0 — Budget nonexistent or totally inadequate, without indication of how the prize will be used.
1 — Budget incomplete or unclear, with poorly justified allocation of resources or disproportionate to proposed activities.
2 — Budget reasonably described, with some coherence in resource allocation.
3 — Budget well structured and detailed, with clear and justified use of the prize amount and coherent distribution of resources according to planned activities.
5. Innovation and Creativity
0 — Does not present any innovative elements.
1 — Uses conventional approaches, with little creativity and no evident impact on participation or community empowerment.
2 — Introduces some innovative approaches, with reasonable creativity and limited involvement of sex workers.
3 — Presents original solutions, well adapted to the context, with creative strategies that strongly promote participation, empowerment, and community connection — such as intergenerational workshops, public art, digital storytelling, among others.
6. Participation
0 — Does not demonstrate involvement of sex workers.
1 — Limited participation of sex workers or merely consultative.
2 — Active participation in some project phases.
3 — Direct, continuous, and co-creative involvement of sex workers in all stages of the project.
7. Coordination and Work Networks
0 — Does not present coordination or identified partnerships.
1 — Presents limited or informal coordination, without clear demonstration of effective collaboration.
2 — Presents formal coordination with relevant partners, foreseeing joint actions and resource sharing.
3 — Presents solid and diversified coordination, with well-defined strategic partnerships that promote mutual capacity-building, effective collaboration, and expanded impact of activities.
8. Monitoring and Evaluation
0 — Does not present a monitoring plan.
1 — Presents a monitoring plan inadequate to the defined objectives.
2 — Presents a monitoring plan with appropriate methods and tools, but with unclear or insufficient indicators.
3 — Presents a rigorous monitoring plan, with well-defined, measurable indicators aligned with the project’s objectives.