Lisbon, June 28, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's president on Friday highlighted the work of António Costa, António Guterres and Durão Barroso in favour of environmental sustainability at international level and stressed that there is a change in civic culture in Portugal.
These views were conveyed by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa after presiding over the José Manuel de Mello 2024 awards at the Belém Cultural Centre in Lisbon, where the winner was Pedro Freitas Mendes and where honourable mentions were also awarded to Olívia Pinto Soares and Pedro Teixeira de Resende.
After the inaugural speech by Vasco de Mello, president of the Amélia de Mello Foundation, during which he sought to highlight the importance of the research work carried out in the fields of sustainability and decarbonisation, the head of state, in his final speech of the session, began by turning to the history of Portuguese industry, highlighting Alfredo da Silva's "vision beyond his time".
"More than a century ago, the group he built knew how to understand the change taking place in society," Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa pointed out, before referring to the challenges of today and the role that has been played by Portuguese with responsibilities in high international positions, such as António Guterres as secretary general of the United Nations, António Costa as prime minister and future president of the European Council, and José Manuel Durão Barroso as former president of the European Commission.
"There was a consensus in Portuguese society that sustainable development would involve innovation - innovation concerned with sustainability. A dimension that is not strictly economic or social, but also environmental. A consensus on the importance of research was also born," he said.
In this context, the country's president then emphasised that the secretary-general of the United Nations is a defender of the green transition "with more or less success, but always fighting for it".
"Let's remember that Portuguese people in international positions have always fought for these causes, like Durão Barroso. And this award ceremony coincides with the appointment of another Portuguese as president of the European Council, former prime minister António Costa. He will have the responsibility of playing a mediating role both in transatlantic relations and in relations between European member states, very focused on the perspectives" of digital and environmental transitions, he emphasised.
In his speech, the country's president also defended the theory that Portuguese society is witnessing a "shift in civic culture".
"A shift that the country sometimes doesn't realise, but which is underway in small, medium and large companies," he said, before noting that private investment in research is increasing, "reversing the traditional logic".
"There are still shortcomings, but we already have figures above the European average in doctorates, in the role of women in doctorates and in the shift from qualifications to business and social life. This is a change in civic culture. The country doesn't realise what is changing in many companies," he insisted.
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