Society

The City Park, the Jardim do Passeio Alegre and the Porto Botanical Garden in Porto now bear the international mark of quality as they have been distinguished with the "Green Flag" award, granted by the NGO Keep Britain Tidy.

During the month of July, the "bibliocarro", a mobile book vehicle that lends books, magazines and newspapers to those enjoying a day at the beach, is parked by the Praia do Molhe and runs as a beach library. Operating hours are from Monday to Friday, from 9.30am till 5pm.

Sky watchers can witness the partial lunar eclipse from Quinta do Covelo on 16 July, at the Centre for Environmental Education through the visual observation with a telescope, guided by experts. This event is entrance free and children aged six or more should be accompanied by an adult.

The Serralves Foundation features the most comprehensive exhibit ever organised to present date on the artwork by Joan Jonas in the late 1960s. The exhibit is showcased at the Serralves Foundation till 1 September 2019.

Exhibits in the Portuguese Photography Centre (cpf) to visit over the weekend include the exhibits "Open a bottle of Port" and "Tell the world about us".

There is a pilot-project that is already a success regarding the Reading and Writing Training in the schools of the municipal public network of Porto. The project involved circa 700 children that attend preschool and primary school in the state and municipal public network in Porto and the results of the Centre for research and intervention in Reading (CiiL) were presented on 11 July, at ISEP- Institute of Engineering of the Porto Polytechnic Institute.

Body art form will take to the Hard Club on 13 July, with the fifth edition of the Bodypainting Portugal Festival, between 10am and 8pm. Entrance is free. Children are not the only ones captivated by body painting. The festival of colour and art features the human body as a canvas.

Porto hosts the "Tourism Explorers" event on 12 July, at 6pm, at the Porto School of Hotel Management and Tourism. Tourism Explorers is a free programme, which requires registration, organised by the "Fábrica de Startups" ["Startups Factory", free translation], in partnership with Turismo de Portugal, with the goal of promoting entrepreneurship in Portugal, by means of creating new tourism related startups and support their development.

The Museum of Serralves opens today, 11 July, the anniversary exhibition of the 30 years of the Foundation's Collection. It is all about telling the History of contemporary art, from the viewpoint "of the city and the country", asserts Director Philippe Vergne.

The Municipal Medals award ceremony of Porto took place on 9 July at Casa do Roseiral, the official residence of Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira. Altogether, 25 medals were awarded in the name of culture and liberty. This year's edition distinguished Prince Amyn Aga Khan and Alberto de Sousa Martins, former Minister and assemblyman.