Portuguese street paper CAIS got in on the #VendorWeek action this year by bringing together all of its vendors for, as the magazine described, a day of “closeness and conviviality”.
On Wednesday 5 February, the Lisbon-based INSP member gathered its 40 vendor for team and self-esteem building, allowing magazine staff and vendors alike to mingle and relax together, celebrating the work they do.
The vendors who attended came to the Portuguese capital from other points of sale around the country, including Porto, Coimbra and Almada.
In a statement, Conceição Cordeiro, executive director of CAIS Association, the street paper’s overarching organisation, said: “Our vendors go out every day to sell the magazine, allowing them to optimise their lives in a dignified and legal way in society. They are fundamental to the identity of CAIS.”
Gathering at CAIS‘s main office, the group were welcomed by Cordeiro and invited to lunch with the rest of the organisation’s team. They were led in discussions and activities intended to bring them closer together. They then toured vendor pitches across the city.
“It will be a day of closeness and conviviality, so that everyone can get to know each other and exchange experiences of their common goal,” the magazine added in a statement.
Like INSP, last year CAIS celebrated its 25th anniversary, having been founded in December 1994. It is estimated that over 2 million copies of the street paper has been sold in Portugal and, in that time, around 2,500 vendors have benefited from the project.
Read more coverage of #VendorWeek 2020 here