Initiative details
Portugal continues to face critical road safety challenges, particularly related to digital distraction among road users. These challenges demand a cultural shift that must begin with early education and awareness efforts targeting the youngest generations. The Patrulha Júnior campaign was launched in 2019 to address the lack of structured road safety education for primary school children. At this formative age, instilling safe behaviors holds long-term potential. The campaign was designed to complement traditional awareness efforts through emotionally engaging and age-appropriate educational formats. One of the main challenges was engaging young audiences not only to become more responsible drivers in the future, but also to act as immediate multipliers of the safety message—helping raise awareness among adults and promoting safer behaviors in their families and communities. Through interactive theatre and community engagement, Patrulha Júnior tackles the root causes of unsafe behavior, promotes responsible citizenship, and extends its influence to families. Since its inception, the campaign has directly impacted over 17,000 children across 47 municipalities, illustrating its broad reach and systemic relevance.
Initiative date
Who was/is your target audience?
Children 0-16
Parents
Topic
Create awareness
Education in school or in community organizations
Knowledge building and sharing
Organisation details
Ascendi
Enterprise
Portugal
Porto
Contact name
Marco Pereira
Telephone number
+351916329467
mapereira@ascendi.pt
Website link
Project activities
If you work together with external partners, list the most important partners and briefly describe their role.
The Patrulha Júnior campaign was built from the outset on a collaborative foundation, where all partners contributed valuable insights and know-how that helped shape the educational and operational framework of the initiative.
• ANSR (National Road Safety Authority): Played a key role during the development phase, offering strategic and technical input. In the implementation phase, ANSR maintains close coordination with municipalities, reinforcing the campaign’s relevance and credibility.
• PSP and GNR: These security forces are essential to the campaign’s success. In addition to participating in the development phase, they are actively present in every session—providing officers to act in the play, vehicles and equipment for the road safety exhibition, and further engagement through mascots and canine units, which enrich the children's overall experience.
• Liga dos Bombeiros Portugueses: Fire departments support both the theatre play and the demonstration area, raising awareness of emergency response and safety behaviors.
• Municipalities: Manage local logistics, school coordination, venue preparation, and campaign promotion within their communities.
This network of partners ensures each session is grounded in reality, emotionally engaging, and effectively integrated into the local context.
• ANSR (National Road Safety Authority): Played a key role during the development phase, offering strategic and technical input. In the implementation phase, ANSR maintains close coordination with municipalities, reinforcing the campaign’s relevance and credibility.
• PSP and GNR: These security forces are essential to the campaign’s success. In addition to participating in the development phase, they are actively present in every session—providing officers to act in the play, vehicles and equipment for the road safety exhibition, and further engagement through mascots and canine units, which enrich the children's overall experience.
• Liga dos Bombeiros Portugueses: Fire departments support both the theatre play and the demonstration area, raising awareness of emergency response and safety behaviors.
• Municipalities: Manage local logistics, school coordination, venue preparation, and campaign promotion within their communities.
This network of partners ensures each session is grounded in reality, emotionally engaging, and effectively integrated into the local context.
Please describe the project activities you carried/are carrying out and the time period over which these were implemented.
Since 2019, Patrulha Júnior has been implemented annually as a school-based road safety campaign. It centers on an interactive theatre play for primary school children, performed in municipal venues. Sessions are coordinated with local schools and include demonstrations led by police forces, firefighters, and Ascendi’s assistance and surveillance teams. These partners also take part in the play and the post-performance exhibition of emergency vehicles and mascots.
This involvement brings the message closer to the children through familiar local figures, creating emotional engagement and strengthening community ties. The campaign also includes pre-event planning, educational materials. By featuring real police units, fire departments, and Ascendi vehicles, the campaign illustrates practical safety systems children recognize in their daily lives. The participation of local teams —police, firefighters, and Ascendi staff—adds authenticity and fosters stronger identification with the safety message.
Each year, the initiative expands to new municipalities and evolves through feedback from schools and partners. Scheduled to align with the academic calendar, the campaign ensures maximum participation and continuity.
This involvement brings the message closer to the children through familiar local figures, creating emotional engagement and strengthening community ties. The campaign also includes pre-event planning, educational materials. By featuring real police units, fire departments, and Ascendi vehicles, the campaign illustrates practical safety systems children recognize in their daily lives. The participation of local teams —police, firefighters, and Ascendi staff—adds authenticity and fosters stronger identification with the safety message.
Each year, the initiative expands to new municipalities and evolves through feedback from schools and partners. Scheduled to align with the academic calendar, the campaign ensures maximum participation and continuity.
In terms of implementation, what worked well and what challenges did you need to overcome?
Collaboration with institutional partners—ANSR, GNR, PSP, and municipalities—has been essential to the campaign’s success. The theatrical format proved highly effective, but it also required careful adaptation to different venues with varying spatial layouts and technical conditions. Ensuring sound, lighting, and staging consistency across multiple municipalities posed a significant challenge, particularly in facilities with limited infrastructure. Major challenges included coordinating logistics between schools, authorities, and local partners, particularly in geographically dispersed areas. Another issue was securing venues with suitable technical conditions for performances. These challenges were overcome through collaborative planning, stakeholder commitment, and flexible coordination. The campaign’s consistent structure and local engagement helped build trust and facilitated implementation across diverse communities, contributing significantly to its scalability.
Evaluation
Please summarise how you have evaluated the initiative’s impact (e.g. social media reach, survey, feedback forms, statistics).
The campaign’s impact was initially assessed during its launch phase in 2019 through post-event surveys conducted with teachers and educators. These measured children's engagement and retention of safety messages, resulting in a remarkable 95% recall rate two months after the theatre performance. In the years that followed, feedback from schools and municipalities has remained consistently positive, highlighting the campaign’s relevance, emotional impact, and educational effectiveness. Although primarily delivered through in-person events, social media and institutional communication channels have amplified the campaign’s visibility. Qualitative feedback from educators and families further validates the emotional and educational value of the initiative. The consistent positive feedback confirms the campaign’s effectiveness in fostering safer behavior in children.
What has been the effect of the activities?
Since 2019, Patrulha Júnior has directly reached over 17,000 children in 47 municipalities. With a 95% recall rate two months after participation, the initiative demonstrates strong message retention and potential for long-term behavioral impact. While quantitative data on accident reduction is not available—given the multiple complex factors that influence road incidents and the long timeline required to assess whether today's children will become safer drivers—the campaign contributes meaningfully to early awareness. It fosters positive behavior through engaging, educational experiences. The campaign also indirectly influences family members, as children often share what they’ve learned. Its consistent presence, regional scope, and endorsement by recognized institutions ensure wide visibility and credibility. It complements existing road safety education strategies by offering an emotionally resonant, practical, and community-rooted approach.
Please briefly explain why your initiative is a good example of improving road safety.
What sets Patrulha Júnior apart is its immersive and relational approach, particularly through the use of interactive theatre and hands-on demonstrations. The format enables close, quality contact between children and the key messages of road safety. This experiential model not only reinforces emotional connection and message retention but also transforms each session into a memorable learning opportunity with long-lasting impact.
The campaign is further strengthened by the active involvement of the main stakeholders responsible for road safety in Portugal—ANSR, PSP, GNR, and fire departments. Their participation from the conceptual phase through to local implementation ensures both operational credibility and educational depth. Their presence in the theatre plays, the contribution of mascots and canine units, and the display of emergency vehicles during the sessions create a rich, engaging environment that resonates deeply with the young audience.
Additionally, Patrulha Júnior is a replicable and effective model of road safety education. It combines emotional engagement with clear, age-appropriate messaging. The initiative is scalable and adaptable, requiring limited resources beyond coordination with schools and local authorities. Its modular format and strong network of partners make it an ideal reference for early-age road safety programs that can be adapted to various national or regional contexts.
The campaign is further strengthened by the active involvement of the main stakeholders responsible for road safety in Portugal—ANSR, PSP, GNR, and fire departments. Their participation from the conceptual phase through to local implementation ensures both operational credibility and educational depth. Their presence in the theatre plays, the contribution of mascots and canine units, and the display of emergency vehicles during the sessions create a rich, engaging environment that resonates deeply with the young audience.
Additionally, Patrulha Júnior is a replicable and effective model of road safety education. It combines emotional engagement with clear, age-appropriate messaging. The initiative is scalable and adaptable, requiring limited resources beyond coordination with schools and local authorities. Its modular format and strong network of partners make it an ideal reference for early-age road safety programs that can be adapted to various national or regional contexts.
How have you shared information about your project and its results?
Information about the campaign has been widely shared through Ascendi’s digital platforms, municipal websites, and partner networks. Key outcomes and highlights are communicated via social media, internal newsletters, and coordination meetings with stakeholders. Media coverage of certain events has helped extend public visibility. Local impact is significant due to strong engagement with schools and the presence of security forces. This communication strategy has strengthened the campaign’s reputation and encouraged new municipalities to participate.