Portugal: Raymond Aitken, director of Amara

Name: Raymond Aitken

Job title: Director of Research and Innovation at Amara, an association that helps terminally ill people and their families through psychosocial accompaniment in Lisbon (www.amara.pt)

Have you always worked in the third sector?
No, I have had a diverse career path ranging across police intelligence, environmental engineering and consultancy.

How long have you been working in the non profit sector?
I first tasted the fruit of social enterprise success 17 years ago.

How and why did you become interested in the third sector?
Challenged by the formidable cost of regenerating the dilapidated property of an inter-faith association, whose members only used the building twice a week, I secured a commercial bank loan with the help of a businessman friend. The loan was paid off by other local organisations who rented the property as an activity centre. Today this income enables the association to fund other social regeneration projects

What does Amara do?
Established in 2003 to help terminally ill people and their families through psychosocial accompaniment by trained volunteers, AMARA, in partnership with renowned biomedical and psychosocial practitioners from Portugal, Spain and Canada, also provides specialist training at post-graduate level, for the humanisation of terminal and long-term care delivered by Portuguese healthcare professionals.

How is Amara financed?
Entrepreneurial earnings from training courses, book publication, events and consultancy represent the principal source of AMARA?s operating finance.

What are your thoughts on Gordon Brown's speech of September 3rd?
In two and a half words: extraordinary and hope-inspiring. It is a passionate rallying-call and commitment to ordinary people to change the world. It transcends the redundant dogma of socialism versus capitalism and brings us back to the essential common-ground of humanity. He is advocating for a radical change in relationship between the State and its citizens, based on a "new style of inclusive leadership".

Euclid is holding an international workshop in Lisbon in September, will you participate?
Yes!

What do you expect from Euclid's summit?
I expect to meet a lot of interesting people from whom I will learn things, which will help me to do more and better in the endeavours I am undertaking, relating to humanitarian development through social enterprise.

More info:

• Read Aitken's article: Social enterprise, a cornerstone for inclusive prosperity?
• Read more interview's with Aitken: Brown paves the way to the Euclid Summit
• Find out about Euclid's International Summit