On 17 June, the Municipal Auditorium of Baião hosted the IV Annual Conference on Environment and Sustainability, dedicated to the theme ‘Peace, Planet and Sustainable Development’, a meeting that promoted reflection and debate on some of today’s most pressing challenges.
The event was attended by prominent figures from Portuguese public life. Augusto Santos Silva opened the proceedings and Paulo Portas closed the session, in a meeting marked by the sharing of ideas on the challenges facing humanity, with a particular focus on environmental, social and geopolitical issues.
The panel discussion, under the motto “Climate Crisis; Threat to Peace; Democracy and Sustainable Development”, was moderated by Inês Cardoso, editorial director of Jornal de Notícias, and brought together Major General Filipe Arnaut Moreira, Helena Carreiras, vice-rector of ISCTE and former Minister of Defence, and Luís Amado, economist and former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Paula Nunes da Silva, coordinator of the ‘Criar Bosques’ (Create Forests) project at QUERCUS – Non-Governmental Environmental Organisation (ONGA), and presenter of the Planeta Verde programme on Porto Canal, also participated in moderating the meeting.
The speeches focused mainly on the new global context, global threats, the causes and consequences of armed conflicts and, above all, the major challenges facing various areas.
At the welcome session, the Mayor of Baião, Paulo Pereira, began by thanking everyone for their presence and highlighted the importance of the conference theme, emphasising the need to join forces, overcome barriers and bring people together for a more sustainable future. ‘Uniting Peace, Planet and People in the same cause has never been so necessary as it is today,’ said the mayor, reinforcing the relevance of the meeting.
‘WITHOUT PEACE, THERE IS NO JUSTICE, THERE IS NO COHESION’
Paulo Pereira also noted the political choices that the Municipality of Baião has been following, within the scope of its Global Strategy, to affirm the municipality as a ‘territory committed to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoting an integrated approach that combines human and economic development with environmental protection,’ he said.
The mayor warned of the dangers that are intensifying in the current international scenario and gave special emphasis to the 16th Sustainable Development Goal – Peace, Justice and Effective Institutions – recalling that ‘without peace there is no justice, there is no cohesion’.
Underlining the fundamental role of local government in building peace, the Mayor highlighted the contribution of communities and civil society in this process, pointing out, in this regard, ‘local authorities, villages, schools, everyone’s home, the way we relate to and care for each other,’ he stressed.
In this context, Paulo Pereira referred to the policies followed in Baião, which are based on ‘proximity, social justice and presence where it is most needed’, ensuring that the world also changes with examples. ‘And Baião wants to continue to be one of them,’ he concluded.
On the same day, on the sidelines of the Conference, at the Ancede Monastery Cultural Centre – MACC Baião, the Municipality received the ‘Gold’ certification as a Sustainable Tourist Destination, awarded by the international entity EarthCheck and validated by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
Baião thus became the first Portuguese municipality to achieve this level of recognition, which reflects its ongoing commitment to sustainable practices and environmental preservation.
See the IV Annual Conference on Environment and Sustainability in full: https://youtu.be/3sDLAWyNIjoal.
