DIALOGUES AND VOYAGE – ASIAN COMMUNITIES IN PORTUGAL 

27 February to 29 May

DiAlogUES AND VOYAGE – ASIAN communitIES IN Portugal

CYCLE of seven DEBATES

Coordinator: Jorge Macaísta Malheiros (Professor at the Centre of Geographic Studies, Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon)

Fifth of seven debates whose objective is to promote the dialogue between “Luso” and Asian communities and contribute towards strengthening inter-cultural ties. There is also the further objective of promoting social and cultural aspects associated with Asian communities resident in Portugal as well as debating the contribution of Asian communities to the dynamics of transformation and social innovation in urban societies in Portugal and Europe. There is also the opportunity to release the results of scientific studies on various aspects of Asian immigration into Europe that contribute towards overcoming myths and stereotypes.

Participation of national specialists and representatives from the aforementioned communities.

27 February

DiAlogUES AND VOYAGE – ASIAN communitIES IN Portugal

Asian communities in Portugal: presentation

I - Dialogues and stories of visible groups

Floor 4

Timetable: 18.00-19.00

FREE ENTRANCE

Age range: Adults
Throughout the last three decades, there has been growing awareness as to the relevant presence of communities originally from southern Asia and China in Portugal. Longstanding citizens, new arrivals or bearing ancestral links from countries with a rising profile on the economic and political international scenario, the very members of these communities present in the first person their social and cultural stories and their perspectives on Portuguese society and the interaction established between here and their origins.

9 and 10 March ConfERENCE: perceptionS ON THE Orient AND ANTIQUITY IN THE MODERN AGE OF Europe FLOOR 4 – Beijing ROOM Timetable: 10.00-18.00 Price: € 40.00 (50% discount for students)

Conference speakers: researchers from Spain, the Czech Republic and Portugal 
The closer and more frequent contacts modern Europe engaged in with the Orient resulted in curiosity about both the “other” and Antiquity. European travellers, and in particular various Portuguese explorers such as Pedro Teixeira and Nicolau de Orta Rebelo, for example, crossed overland through areas such as the Middle East and observed the remnants of ancient cultures. Taking as their point of reference classical writers and the Bible itself, these travellers exhausted themselves in seeking to identify geographic references to Antiquity such as Babylon and the Tower of Babel. Their perplexity as regards the differences, the exoticism of what they encountered and also the recognition of such echoes of Antiquity, through their observation of archaeological and historical remains resulted in these travellers writing accounts of their voyages reflecting their cultural perceptions. This conference approaches some of the eyewitness accounts of their perplexity in contact with these cultures all the way from Syria to India and providing an overview of the first steps in European Orientalism. 
Organisation: Fundação Oriente and Centre of Colonial History

attendance through pre-registration at the centre of colonial history:
coloquios.cham@fcsh.unl.pt

13 March

DIALOGUES and voyage – asian communities in Portugal
Asian communities in Portugal: presentation
II - Dialogues and stories from invisible groups
FLOOR 4
Timetable: 18.00-20.00FREE EntraNCE
Age range: Adults
This session complements the former, on February 27, giving a voice to representatives from smaller and less visible Asian groups within Portuguese society. Effectively, beyond populations with their origins in the People’s Republic of China or India that were settled in Mozambique and relocated to Portugal as from the 1970s, there are other groups of Asian origin that have long had a more discrete presence in Portuguese society even if having gained greater profile over the last 10-15 years as has happened with Sikhs, Nepalese or Bangladeshi communities. There are also stories to tell in these cases and perhaps of greater surprise given the lack of awareness as to these populations.

Coordinator: Jorge Macaísta Malheiros (Professor at the Centre of Geographic Studies, Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon) 

Floor 4

Timetable: 18.00-19.00

FREE ENTRANCE

Age range: Adult

This session features debate on the cultural and economic advantages deriving from the presence and diversification of Asian cuisines in Portugal as well as the stereotypes that emerged as from a certain point in time about Asian restaurants, particularly Chinese. Questions approached include: «What are the origins of Indian and Chinese restaurants in Portugal?», «What have been the trends in Portuguese demand for such restaurant types?», «Are there “fashions” associated with ethnic style restaurants?», «Is there a shortfall in quality in Asian type restaurants or is this prejudice held by the majority society?», «What is the objective of any such prejudice?»