Rio de Janeiro hosts General Assembly of the Union of Portuguese-Speaking Capital Cities

The meeting has an extensive program, including panels, signing of cooperation agreements and visits to historical landmarks in Rio - Marco Antonio Lima/City Hall of Rio

The 24st General Assembly of the Union of Portuguese-Speaking Capital Cities (UCCLA) began this Monday (3/25), returning to Rio de Janeiro after more than 100 years. Rio's deputy mayor, Eduardo Cavaliere, participated in the opening, which brought together more than XNUMX representatives from Portuguese-speaking cities in Angola, Cape Verde, China, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor at the City Palace in Botafogo.

— It is an honor to host the 41st UCCLA General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro. We reaffirm our commitment to cooperation among Portuguese-speaking cities, sustainable development and the appreciation of our common heritage. We are celebrating Rio as the first Portuguese-speaking city to be named UNESCO World Book Capital in 2025, reinforcing our central role in the culture and history of Portuguese-speaking countries — highlighted Deputy Mayor Eduardo Cavaliere during the opening of the event.

In addition to the deputy mayor, the ceremony was attended by the secretary general of UCCLA, Luís Álvaro Ferreira, the president of the Maputo Municipal Council, Rasaque Manhique, ambassador Laudemar Aguiar, the municipal secretary of Culture, Lucas Padilha, the secretary of Conservation, Didi Vaz, and the secretary of Environment and Climate, Tainá de Paula.

Organized in partnership with the City of Rio, the meeting, which ends on Tuesday (25/03), has an extensive program, including panels, the signing of cooperation agreements and visits to historical landmarks in Rio, such as the Little Africa region in Porto. On Monday morning, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Rio and Maputo (Mozambique), which have been sister cities since 2013, to deepen cooperation in areas such as education, culture and tourism. Other exchange agreements between cities are planned until the end of the event.

Culture is a prominent topic in discussions

One of the central themes of the event is the strengthening of public policies to encourage books and reading, in the context of the Rio de Janeiro World Book Capital program, a title granted by UNESCO. For the first time in 25 editions, a Portuguese-speaking city will host the event, which begins on April 23 in Rio de Janeiro. The theme will be discussed in depth in panels with the presence of the municipal secretary of Culture, Lucas Padilha, including the conference “Rio de Janeiro and Culture in Portuguese Language”.

As part of the reception for UCCLA members, the General Archive of the City of Rio de Janeiro presented the exhibition “Rio in Three Times”, a recovery of the city's cultural memory from the perspective of three chroniclers: the watercolors of Jean Baptiste Debret and the lenses of photographers Augusto Malta and Marcello Cavalcanti, in three distinct historical moments.

— This exhibition promoted by the General Archive, with the perspective of three chroniclers on the city of Rio de Janeiro, is of fundamental importance in the rescue and preservation of the city's cultural heritage — stated the Secretary of Culture, Lucas Padilha.

On the second day of the assembly, Tuesday (25/3), participants will make a series of visits in Rio, including the Rio Operations Center (COR), the Museum of Afro-Brazilian History and Culture (MUHCAB), the Instituto Pretos Novos (IPN) and Cais do Valongo, reinforcing the commitment to preserving Afro-Brazilian memory.