International conference: 'Mário Soares, A Life Between Centuries'' to be held this week at the University of Coimbra
The academic initiative to reflect on the life, work and legacy of Mário Soares takes place at the Faculty of Economics, with free admission.
This week, on 9 and 10 October, the University of Coimbra (UC) is hosting the international conference Mário Soares: A Life between Centuries. All sessions will take place at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra (FEUC) and are free to attend, upon prior registration at https://congresso-ms.fmsoaresbarroso.pt/.
Organised by the University of Coimbra and seven other public higher education institutions, at the invitation of the Organising Committee for the Centenary of Mário Soares, this academic initiative seeks to reflect on and debate the figure of Mário Soares (1924–2017), his intellectual and political career, his ideas, political action, and legacy.
The programme features four keynote lectures by Irene Pimentel and José Pacheco Pereira on 9 October, and Luís Reis Torgal and Maria Inácia Rezola on 10 October, which will debate and explore new insights into Mário Soares's remarkable contributions to Portuguese democracy, European integration, peace and cooperation between peoples.
Alongside the keynote lectures, the congress will feature roundtable discussions on key aspects of Mário Soares’s thought and action, as well as parallel sessions with more than thirty presentations by young researchers from the fields of history, political science, and international relations.
The thematic sessions will explore central issues in Mário Soares’s personal and political journey and his enduring democratic legacy. Topics include resistance to the Estado Novo regime, deportation and exile; the construction of democracy after 25 April; decolonisation and relations with Portuguese-speaking countries; social challenges and public policy; democratic socialism; European integration and foreign relations; the defence of environmental and ocean policies; education, science, and culture; and his historiographical and intellectual work.
“Fifty years after 25 April, and in a time of crisis for democracy, peace and international cooperation, it is of paramount importance to commemorate Mário Soares and discuss his ideas and legacy. The programme of the international congress Mário Soares: A Life Between Centuries reflects an unequivocal commitment to the humanist and democratic values that define the University’s mission,” says the Organising Committee.