From 9 to 11 January, the Universidade Católica Portuguesa brought together experts and academics in Lisbon to debate the topic of Integral Human Development (IHD): Paths to the Common Good. At the invitation of the Católica Doctoral School, Sister Alessandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, kicked off this presentation of the results of the 2023-2025 social impact projects funded by the DHI programme.

During her intervention, Sister Alessandra Smerilli offered the perspective of care and listening, combining theory and practice, as paths to the future. She also shared what she considers to be the main risks on a global scale, focussing on the ‘technocratic paradigm’.

In light of this risk, the sister praised the programme of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, highlighting its work in the ‘concrete’ reality of the country. ‘We risk talking about big concepts, global problems, but then we fail to look at real situations,’ emphasised.

As for possible ways forward, Alessandra Smerilli mentioned the paradigm of care: ‘we need to change the social norms of work and care: work and care are interconnected, and we won't be able to value care if we don't restructure the way we understand work.’

At the conference, Peter Hanenberg, Vice-Rector for Research and Doctoral Education at Católica, also reinforced the impact of the DHI Programme, inviting a ‘turn towards society’ by promoting research with ‘real impact’ in practice.