Around 5,000 participants at Ciência 2018

For three days, from July 2 to 4, the Portuguese scientific community gathered at Ciência 2018 - Meeting with Science and Technology in Portugal. There were more than 5,000 participants, who took part in almost 800 communications divided into 100 sessions.

More than 700 posters were presented and 8 plenary sessions were held, with the participation of personalities such as the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Prime Minister, António Costa, the Minister for the Presidency and Administrative Modernization, Maria Leitão Marques, the Minister for the Environment, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Education and Science, chaired by Alexandre Quintanilha, the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, and the Minister for Education, Culture, Science and Communication of São Tomé and Príncipe, Olinto Daio. The personalities were received by the Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, the President of the Foundation for Science and Technology, Paulo Ferrão, the President of Ciência Viva, Rosalia Vargas, and the Commissioner for Science 2018, Alexandra Marques. 

The meeting was organized around various scientific and technological areas and the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, and had South Africa as a guest country. Also up for debate was the design of the future 9th European Framework Program for Research and Innovation, 2021-2028. In the space dedicated to demonstrating the research carried out by the research units, 80 demonstrations were on show.

The work of personalities who have contributed to the development of science in Portugal was also recognized with the award of the 2018 Medals of Merit for Science. For the first time, the Arquivo.pt Awards were presented, honoring original and innovative works that used the old web pages available on Arquivo.pt as a source.

It was also possible to follow the whole event remotely via the Ciência 2018 YouTube channel and Facebook page. Here you can also find information and interviews with the researchers and government officials who took part in the meeting.