The 3rd edition of the International Congress Colonial and Post-Colonial Landscapes  will take place at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, from 11 to 13 February 2026. Following the questioning of Architecture, Cities and Infrastructures (2019) and Architecture, Colonialism and War (2023) in previous editions, this edition will focus on Architecture , Cities , and Labour . The programme includes the Opening Conference with Senegalese architect Nzinga Biegueng Mboup (free admission), Keynote Lectures by Professors Alexander Keese (Université de Genève) and Cecilia L. Chu (Chinese University of Hong Kong), a film screening curated by Alexandra Areia in partnership with Cinemateca Portuguesa, the launch of the book Layering the City  (LBA Macau, 2025), and 18 parallel sessions featuring around 100 international speakers. The influence of large-scale labour on the production of the landscape — including the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructures and buildings — has not been fully explored in the context of colonial architecture. This topic has significant implications for describing past societies and, more importantly, for studying and understanding current communities with colonial pasts and their relationship to the production of space. In these contexts, the relationship between architecture and labour offers a promising approach to addressing some of the challenges faced by post-colonial societies, providing diverse perspectives on the issue. These include the relationship with 'Western' building technologies and materials; the scarcity of traditional construction systems; the undervaluation of these systems with regard to climate adaptation and sustainable solutions; and persistent racial and gender inequalities in work environments, particularly in public works labour. The congress welcomes contributions from diverse geographical, disciplinary, and chronological backgrounds to promote a broad and stimulating debate, intersecting the history of colonial architecture, social and labour history, and construction technology. The Opening Conference, the Keynote Lectures, and the presentations of the Archlabour project and the book 'Layering the City' will be broadcast live on the DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte YouTube channel. Congress Programme   This event is part of the research project “ArchLabour: Architecture, Colonialism and Labour. The role and legacy of mass labour in the design, planning and construction of Public Works in former African territories under Portuguese colonial rule” (ERC grant 1101096606), coordinated by Ana Vaz Milheiro and hosted at DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte.

DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte marks today, 11 February, the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a day established by the United Nations with the aim of recognizing women’s contribution to the advancement of scientific knowledge and promoting full, equal, and sustainable participation in science, by sharing the reflections of Joana Lages, a researcher at DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte, on the challenges and the importance of asserting women’s place within the scientific community in Portugal: Watch Video Here   Joana Lages coordinates the project “Housing as a Tool for Freedom: A Future Away from Incarceration”, research funded by the European Research Council (ERC) which proposes an innovative approach to one of today’s major social challenges: how housing can be an essential tool in the reintegration of former inmates. Commemorating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science provides an opportunity to recognize the distinguished contributions of all the female researchers at DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte. At varying stages of their careers and across diverse fields of enquiry, these scholars have consistently advanced the frontiers of knowledge and forged new pathways for future generations.

The article ‘ Aligning active labor market policies with national growth strategies: a comparative study of Portugal and Spain ’, co-authored by Paulo Marques (DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte researcher and coordinator of the Youth Employment Observatory) and Pedro Videira (DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte researcher) has been published by Cambridge University Press in the Journal of Public Policy . There has been a marked escalation in youth unemployment in numerous European Union (EU) member states over the past two decades, most notably in Southern Europe. Whereas the youth unemployment rate in Portugal surged from 8.9% in 2000 to 38.1% in 2013, in Spain, it increased from 26% to 55.5% over the same timeframe. The rising youth unemployment rates have highlighted the imperative for public policies designed to enhance the employability of young individuals. Consequently, there has been a proliferation of active labor market policies (ALMPs) targeting youth across the EU, especially in the wake of the 2008 global economic crisis. Nevertheless, member states have displayed differing priorities in the formulation of these ALMPs. These divergent policy approaches are clearly visible in Portugal and Spain, countries characterized by high youth unemployment rates between 2000 and 2019, including among higher education graduates, as well as similar welfare regimes and economic growth models. While Portugal’s policy measures concentrated primarily on boosting the employability of higher education graduates, Spain directed its efforts toward reforming its vocational education and training (VET) system. This research aims to shed light on the rationale behind these distinct political priorities by exploring the question: Why did Portugal focus on ALMP for graduates while Spain prioritized VET? The article is accessible here .

Rita Calvário , researcher at DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte, and Cecília Honório will present the Conference ‘Mulheres Rurais na Reforma Agrária’, within the framework of the Gendered power relations in agriculture: how rural women are facing gender inequality and struggling for more just and sustainable agri-food systems – the case of Portugal  research project. The conference is part of the cycle 'Terra e Paisagens no Sul – Conferências de Beja', resulting from a partnership between EDIA, Câmara Municipal de Beja and the Direção Regional de Cultura do Alentejo . The event is also supported by the Associação para a Defesa do Património Cultural da Região de Beja e da Universidade Sénior de Beja   The event is free to attend and will be held at Núcleo Museológico do Sembrano, on February 27th, 2026, at 9:00 PM.   The conference will streamed live on the Câmara Municipa de Beja’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CMBeja/streams Free Admission.

Photo by Fausto Giaccone The documentary Mulheres, Terra, Revolução  (Women, Land, Revolution), authored by Rita Calvário (resarcher at DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte) and Cecília Honório, will be screened at Sede do Grupo Coral “Os Papa Borregos de Alvito, at Rua das Pereiras, 6, Alvito, on February 28th, at 2:30 p.m. The documentary was developed within the scope o  f the Gendered power relations in agriculture: how rural women are facing gender inequality and struggling for more just and sustainable agri-food systems – the case of Portugal  research project. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the directors. Free Admission.

The El Salto company presents the production 'Dar o Couro' (D'Arrache Corps) on 5 and 6 March 2026, at Teatro Avenidas – Um teatro em cada bairro , an initiative promoted with the support of Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, Direção Municipal de Cultura, DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte, Observatório do Emprego Jovem. The artistic project, grounded in scientific field research conducted in France, Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, proposes a critical reflection on suffering and pleasure at work, utilizing the performing arts as a tool to dissect the complexities of the modern labour world and the impact of organizations on individuals' health. The dramaturgy exposes recurrent situations in the current business fabric, such as increased production rhythms, the demand for constant reporting, and the implementation of teambuilding activities to the detriment of the quality of the craft. Characters such as Bloch and Koliovski illustrate generational and hierarchical conflicts, representing tensions between critical seniority and management focused on financial indicators. Under the direction of Patricio Nusshold — actor and academic researcher — the work assumes the character of a tool for social emancipation, distancing itself from conventional entertainment. The artistic team, which includes Gabriel Agosti, Nico Froment, and Romain Delavoipierre, promotes a technical fusion between theatre, circus arts, video, and psychology in an artistic project that constitutes a biting allegory of the global corporate reality. "The play, lasting approximately 50 minutes, features Portuguese subtitling and includes a post-performance debate on 6 March for the exchange of ideas between the audience, researchers, and the company. The debate will feature DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte researchers Sara Ramos and Paulo Marques (Coordinator of the Youth Employment Observatory). Dates: 5 March 2026: 9:00 pm 6 March 2026: 4:00 pm – followed by a discussion/debate Venue: Teatro Avenidas – Um teatro em cada bairro Rua Alberto de Sousa 10A, 1600-201 Lisbon Reservations: Email:  umteatroemcadabairro.avenidas@cm-lisboa.pt Telephone: 218 172 400

Ana Mehnert Pascoal’s chapter ‘Between Hierarchy, Efficiency and Pragmatism: Picturing Portuguese Government Offices in Historic Buildings during the Estado Novo Dictatorship’ has been published by Leuven University Press in the open-acess book Behind Office Doors. Use and Users in the History of Office Buildings , edited by Jens van de Maele.   The visual essay considers Portuguese government offices under the Estado Novo dictatorship, particularly the use of ministerial offices in the historic buildings on Lisbon’s Terreiro do Paço during the 1930-1960 period, by analysing a set of historical photographs. These spaces served to project the regime’s authority and link its governance to the nation’s glorious past. The investigation illustrates that although the buildings embodied the centralised and hierarchical nature of the state, they also exposed the difficulties of working within outdated and restrictive spaces. Despite permanent need for improvisation, the regime managed to maintain its authority by combining heritage preservation and logistical challenges.   The book is accessible here .

The working meeting titled 'Precarization of Labour and Obstetric Racism'  will take place on 9 Februray 2026, at Iscte, Building 4, Room A104, from 3.00 PM to 6.00 PM. The joint working session bringing together researchers and postgraduate students, aims to critically analyze the relationships between the precarization of labour, structural racism, and the reproductive health of Black women regarding obstetric violence. The session will address labour exploitation in relation to the dynamics of capitalist accumulation, contemporary labour, and obstetric racism. The first thematic axis will discuss how labour, class, gender, and race operate as structural elements of capitalism, emphasizing their current expressions in the production and reproduction of social labour relations. The second axis will further the analysis regarding health and motherhood in a context of racialized capitalism, examining the extreme materialization of these inequalities through the phenomenon of obstetric racism. Free admission subject to registration here Registration Deadline: 6 February. Certificates of attendance will be issued Coordination: Ana Cristina Oliveira de Oliveira Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Visiting Researcher) at DINÂMIA'CET-Iscte (2025–2026) and at the Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil). Professor at the Department of Social Work and the Postgraduate Programme in Social Work and Regional Development at the School of Social Work, Federal University of Fluminense (ESS/UFF/Brazil). Coordinator of the Permanent Study and Research Group on Labour, the Social Question, and Social Work (ESS/UFF, Brazil). Member of the Centre for Studies and Research on Social Theory, Labour, and Social Work (NUTSS/UFF). Coordinator of the Centre for Housing and Urban Studies and Projects at the Federal University of Fluminense (NEPHU/UFF). Carolina Magalhães Heringer Doctoral internship (visiting PhD candidate) at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra (UC). PhD candidate in Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health (Public Health) at the Fernandes Figueira Institute (IFF/Fiocruz – RJ/Brazil). Member of the Laboratory for Social Studies on Childbirth ( Nascer.pt - CIES-IUL/Iscte)

The 3rd edition of the International Congress Colonial and Post-Colonial Landscapes  will take place at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, from 11 to 13 February 2026. Following the questioning of Architecture, Cities and Infrastructures (2019) and Architecture, Colonialism and War (2023) in previous editions, this edition will focus on Architecture , Cities , and Labour . The programme includes the Opening Conference with Senegalese architect Nzinga Biegueng Mboup (free admission), Keynote Lectures by Professors Alexander Keese (Université de Genève) and Cecilia L. Chu (Chinese University of Hong Kong), a film screening curated by Alexandra Areia in partnership with Cinemateca Portuguesa, the launch of the book Layering the City  (LBA Macau, 2025), and 18 parallel sessions featuring around 100 international speakers. The influence of large-scale labour on the production of the landscape — including the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructures and buildings — has not been fully explored in the context of colonial architecture. This topic has significant implications for describing past societies and, more importantly, for studying and understanding current communities with colonial pasts and their relationship to the production of space. In these contexts, the relationship between architecture and labour offers a promising approach to addressing some of the challenges faced by post-colonial societies, providing diverse perspectives on the issue. These include the relationship with 'Western' building technologies and materials; the scarcity of traditional construction systems; the undervaluation of these systems with regard to climate adaptation and sustainable solutions; and persistent racial and gender inequalities in work environments, particularly in public works labour. The congress welcomes contributions from diverse geographical, disciplinary, and chronological backgrounds to promote a broad and stimulating debate, intersecting the history of colonial architecture, social and labour history, and construction technology. Registration for non-presenting participants is now open here. General attendees, lunches and coffee breaks included: 75€*   General attendees, without lunches and coffee breaks: 40€    + info: https://archlabour.iscte-iul.pt/cpcl-theme/   This event is part of the research project “ArchLabour: Architecture, Colonialism and Labour. The role and legacy of mass labour in the design, planning and construction of Public Works in former African territories under Portuguese colonial rule” (ERC grant 1101096606), coordinated by Ana Vaz Milheiro and hosted at DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte.

Rita Calvário , researcher at DINÂMIA’CET-Iscte, will join the 9th Annual Meeting of Political Economy, as guest speaker, within the framework of the SWIFT - Supporting Women-led Innovation in Farming Territories  research project. The event will be hosted by the Institute of Sociology - University of Porto and Católica Porto Business School, from 29 to 31 January 2026. SWIFT, which stands for Supporting Women-Led Innovations in Farming and Rural Territories, is a 4 year funded Horizon Europe project set up with the purpose to advance the position of women and LGBTQI+ persons in farming, and to investigate how agroecological processes can promote gender equality. Despite the crucial contributions of women to European agriculture, they remain discriminated against in diverse ways. Their exclusion from social security schemes and low levels of female farm ownership are indicative of structural inequalities. The barriers to gender equality in European agriculture are socio-cultural, economic and political, including policies that frame food as a commodity and exclude the reproductive dimensions of farming. To advance gender equality, the EU-funded SWIFT project will provide new insights and co-create novel approaches with 21 agricultural women-led innovations in 12 countries distributed across Europe, as well as 4 in Brazil and the USA. SWIFT will provide theoretical and practical tools, such as gender-responsive budgeting and feminist farm viability indicators, to enable a change towards more just, effective and diversified farming.   More info here