Fernão Magalhães Chair held a conference in Chile

The Fernão Magalhães Chair at the University of Playa Ancha in Chile held a meeting on January 17 and 18 in honor of Portuguese navigator Fernão de Magalhães. The initiative was supported by Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language and the Center for Advanced Studies at the University of Playa Ancha.

During the event, discussions focused on topics related to history and literature, in a constant dialectic between the past and the present. The FCT was represented at the event by Amélia Polónia, member of the FCT Board of Directors, who focused her speech on the parallels between globalization mechanisms and the functioning of cooperation networks in the past and present. She also presented initiatives that were carried out within the scope of EMCFM – Mission Structure for the Commemoration of the 5th Centenary of Circumnavigation (2019-2022), sponsored by the Portuguese government, in particular those resulting from the contributions of FCT and FCCN in the field of research, innovation, and the dissemination of open access knowledge.

Beginning in 2019 and ending in 2022, the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the circumnavigation led by Portuguese navigator Fernão de Magalhães involved various activities, including a research and innovation program in areas related to circumnavigation. The FCT thus created an R&D program, the Call for Scientific Research and Technological Development Projects within the Scope of the Celebrations of the 500th Anniversary of the Circumnavigation Voyage – 2019, which selected eight projects.

The circumnavigation voyage led by Ferdinand Magellan, beginning in 1519, was the first complete voyage around the globe, whose cultural heritage and significance remain to this day.

Photo: Fernão de Magalhães Digital Platform