Freedom: The Focus of Camões Portuguese Language Center’s Inaugural Event
“Our past cannot be our future,” argued Paulo Pena, a Portuguese journalist, editor, writer and a member of Investigate Europe, a cross-border journalism cooperative across Europe. Last Thursday Paulo Pena and Camões Portuguese Language Center at VMU invited the university community for a discussion.
This year Portugal commemorates 50 years of democracy. On April 25th in 1974 the tanks that rolled into the streets of Lisbon overthrew one of Europe’s oldest dictatorships without firing a shot. Thanks to a beautiful coincidence and to Ms. Celeste, an ordinary citizen, this peaceful revolution was given the name of a flower, The Carnation Revolution.
During the open lecture for the community Paulo Pena linked gracefully the history of Lithuania: the book smugglers, the clandestine movement, Lithuanian Sąjūdis, as well as the unique language. He drew attention to the incomprehensible prohibitions of the dictatorship in Portugal before 1974, he also called for a critical assessment of information and, above all, he encouraged to stay curious and keep questioning. Fortunately, the audience had plenty of questions as the director of the VMU Institute of Foreign Languages, dr. Teresė Ringailienė, conducted this rich discussion on the topics of history, freedom, language, democracy and Portuguese cultural identity.
Later that day, a photo exhibition of the Portuguese photographer Jorge da Silva Horta was opened. The exhibition includes authentic coloured pictures captured with a camera Canon F1 on the day of the Carnation Revolution. The photo collage for the exhibition was made by Titas Glotnis, a student of the VMU Faculty of Arts.
Dalius Raškinis, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Portugal in Lithuania, Assoc. Dr. Vilma Bijeikienė, the Vice-Rector of Communications at VMU, and Irma Čižauskaitė-da Costa, the coordinator of the Camões Portuguese Language Center at VMU and Portuguese language teacher welcomed the public.
Assoc. Dr. Vilma Bijeikienė shared verses in Portuguese in the loving memory of the poet Nuno Guimarães (1960-2013), who was the one to initiate Portuguese language and culture at the university back in 2008.
In the end Paulo Pena told the background of the song “Grândola, Vila Morena” that was played in the morning of the revolution and served as a signal for the actions to start.
A group of Portuguese individuals performed the song live at the event unexpectedly. The song touched everyone, moreover, served as a beautiful proof that although freedom is fragile, the will for it is constant and unbreakable.
The photo exhibition “Carnation Revolution turns 50” is open for public until December 2nd at K. Donelaičio St. 52, II floor.
The event is organized with a support of Camões Portuguese Language Center of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the Republic of Portugal in Copenhagen.
