On October 11, 2024, the 1st Integral Human Development Summit (DHI) will be held at the UNITATE Campus, focusing on the challenges facing aging territories in the Alentejo. The initiative, promoted by the Católica Doctoral School of Universidade Católica Portuguesa (CADOS-UCP) and the UNITATE Foundation, will bring together experts from various fields to debate essential topics on human development, the dignity of the person and ageing. See the program for this event:
The opening session will feature speeches by Tiago Abalroado (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UNITATE Foundation and Alumnus of the DHI Program at CADOS), Sofia Dias (Borba Town Councillor) and Peter Hanenberg (Vice-Rector of Universidade Católica Portuguesa), who will begin a joint reflection on the urgent need for responses adapted to the realities of the most aged territories. In the opening lecture, Peter Hanenberg, director of the Post-Doctorate in Integral Human Development (CADOS-UCP), will discuss the principles of this concept, highlighting its relevance in the current context.
Fr. José Manuel Pereira de Almeida (Director of the National Secretariat for Social Pastoral Care and National Coordinator for Health Pastoral Care) will be one of the voices taking part in this discussion, bringing an important perspective on the role of the Church in supporting the most vulnerable communities.
The panel “The Dignity of the Human Person in Borderline Situations - Challenges and Responses” will be composed of CADOS DHI post-doctoral fellows Helga Martins, Cristina Sá Carvalho, Isabel Santos and Sara Fernandes, all from Universidade Católica Portuguesa, as well as Fr. António Panea Márquez (Health Pastoral), Fr. Manuel Vieira (Cáritas Arquidiocesana de Évora) and Isalina Pereira (Municipality of Évora). The moderator will be Joaquim Barreiros, with Maria Vânia Silva Nunes presenting.
Good practices in Integral Human Development will be shared through interventions by Madalena Ghira (University of Lisbon), who will present the Live Me | Informal Creative Education project, Isabel Vieira (UCP), with the study “Carnide, a success story”, and Patrícia Dias (UCP), who will explore the study “Young People, Faith and the Future”. This session will be moderated by Raquel Ubach Trindade.
The afternoon will include a panel dedicated to “Human Ageing - The Person at the Center”, with the participation of Carlos Barros (UCP), Joaquim Barreiros (writer), Isabel Reis (OSJO Foundation), Mónica Lobo and Conceição Aurélio (Municipality of Vila Viçosa), as well as Fr. Francisco Couto and Fernando Pinto (National Shrine of the Patroness of Portugal). João Pereira will moderate the event, with Maria Alexandra d'Araújo presenting.
One of the most symbolic moments of the initiative will be the dedication of the UNITATE Campus Chapel to Our Lady, a ceremony presided over by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Évora, Francisco Senra Coelho, which will take place in the early afternoon.
The days will end with a World Café, where participants will have the opportunity to share ideas and create synergies, followed by the closing session, again with the presence of the Archbishop of Évora and the Organizing Committee, which will summarize the main contributions discussed throughout the day.
This event will be a unique opportunity to debate issues essential to human development, promoting the exchange of good practices and building solutions to the challenges facing ageing communities.
