Protect natural cultural heritage from hydroclimatic extreme events: learnings from Africa and Balkans

When: 03 September 2025, 14:00-18:00    

Where: Universidade de Évora, Portugal

Conference Website link: https://www.realpamigo2025.uevora.pt/

Workshop link: https://www.realpamigo2025.uevora.pt/workshops/

The Network for Environmental Studies of Portuguese-Speaking Countries – REALP was established in 1997 with the overarching goal of promoting scientific and educational cooperation in the field of environment and sustainability in the Portuguese language. It currently includes 20 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor, with three HEIs from Guinea-Bissau having applied for membership. Soon, we will be a network that integrates HEIs from all the countries of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP).

As part of REALP’s structural activities, its members have prioritized the following:

• contributing to environmental preservation and to improving the quality of life of populations—an essential aspect for the sustainability of nations and harmony in international relations;

• promoting advanced training of human resources for research, analysis, planning, and decision-making on environmental issues;

• encouraging integrated research among institutions, optimizing both human and material resources;=

• strengthening instruments of cooperation in the environmental domain, in priority areas of action for the countries that signed the declaration of the 1st Interministerial Conference on Environment of the CPLP (Lisbon Declaration of 1997);-

• enabling other HEIs of the CPLP to join REALP.

Respect for others—in their differences, acceptance, and integration—has been the guiding principle leading our efforts to build a better, fairer, and more equitable world.

Among REALP’s achievements, the ERASMUS AMbIente e GestãO – AMIGO Consortium project stands out, accredited by the Portuguese National ERASMUS+ Agency in 2017. Although the Consortium, funded by the European Community, includes only Portuguese HEIs, it has enabled the mobility of faculty, staff, and students with REALP member institutions in both directions. This has strengthened REALP’s objectives and opened the network to cooperation in various global regions, notably: Latin America, the Southern Mediterranean, the Balkans, Sub-Saharan Africa, the United States of America, and the Pacific.

The 25th REALP Meeting, and the 1st International Meeting of the AMIGO Project, themed “People and Nature: Research in Sustainability,” will be held in Portuguese, with English translation available during broader-reaching moments such as keynote lectures. The event will feature Thematic Sessions with participant presentations in Portuguese or English, four Plenary Conferences, three Workshops linked to European and national projects, four Round Tables addressing themes that cross science and culture, and various cultural initiatives.

By bringing together researchers, students, and social actors from around the world and exploring the human–nature relationship, we aim to reflect on the impact of this interaction on Planet Earth. Is a different future possible? Can we adapt, adopt new habits, and build new systems? Can we begin to write a new story for our planet, one in which EVERYONE can benefit from a healthier Nature, minimizing risks and maximizing benefits?

Our theme is the promotion of a global, ethical, innovative, and relevant Science and Technology, structured around four broad thematic areas:

• Health and Environment
• Society and Education
• Territory Planning and Management
• Technology and Innovation

Join us at REALP | AMIGO 2025, from September 2 to 6, at the University of Évora, in the city that will be the European Capital of Culture in 2027.