Conference to debate the outlining role of culture starts today in Serralves

Mayor Rui Moreira attended the opening session of the Conference "Cultura Coesão e Impacto Social", [“Culture, Cohesion and Social Impact”, free translation], held in the scope of the Portuguese EU Council Presidency.

Starting today, and until 6 May, the Serralves Foundation holds in-person and videoconference meetings with cultural agents, experts, academics and representatives of the artistic and cultural sector, as well as European leaders, with the main purpose of discussing and debating the impact of culture on social, economic and territorial cohesion in Europe.

Rui Moreira was invited to take part in the opening ceremony, alongside the Minister of Culture, Graça Fonseca, the Secretary of State of Social Security, Gabriel Bastos, and the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research and Culture, Mariya Gabriel, who participated via videoconference.

During his intervention, Rui Moreira highlighted the role of culture, which is increasingly important given the current situation with the ongoing pandemic.

The audience, which had to be reduced due to seat availability restrictions, included personalities such as Pedro Sobrado, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Teatro Nacional São João (TNSJ), and Mónica Guerreiro, chairman of the managing board of Coliseu Porto Ageas. The event started with a welcome note by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Serralves Foundation, Ana Pinho.

The conference, which follows a hybrid format, runs today and tomorrow and is organised around a plenary session and four main panels of debate on the following topics: the social impact of Culture; Culture, Mental Health and Wellbeing; Culture, Cohesion and Territory; Culture and Environmental Sustainability; Culture and Gender Equality.

According to the Minister of Culture, “by approaching a set of topics on the connection of culture and mental health, cohesion and territory, environmental sustainability and gender equality, the conference’s main purpose is to highlight the potential role of culture in managing the current social challenges and in building a better future”.

This European level meeting sets “the importance of a discussion that will allow to better understand the benefits of culture as regards social cohesion, whilst aiming to propose solutions to maximise its social impact”, as advanced by the organisation.

The Conference "Cultura Coesão e Impacto Social", which is held in Porto, happens in the run-up to the European Social Summit, which takes place in Porto on 7 and 8 May and gathers the highest EU representatives in the Invicta.