Mozambique is hosting the 4th Conference of Young Researchers from the Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLP), with more than 1,000 expected participants, aiming to promote African science, value local knowledge, and empower young people, an official source announced today.
“We want to foster science with the understanding that local research is also science […] [we want] to bring critical mass, research thinking, and scientific thinking to young people,” said Cristina Molares D’Abreu, president of the Association of the Meeting of Young Researchers of the CPLP (EJICPLP), speaking at a press conference in Maputo.
Cristina D’Abreu explained that the focus of the meeting is to enhance African scientific production, in an event that also seeks to counter the perception of research in Portuguese-speaking African countries as peripheral.
According to her, the fourth edition of the conference — taking place from Tuesday to Friday at the Centro Cultural Moçambique-China — has seen an increase in participants compared to the previous three editions, two of which were held in Lisbon and one in Luanda.
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“In Maputo, we have 1,200 young people who want to be part of this experience,” she said, adding that the initiative promotes direct contact between young researchers and international experts and serves as a platform for scientific exchange among CPLP youth.
The event, under the theme “Cultural Diversity, Digital Innovation and Ancestral Knowledge: Building Sustainable Futures in Africa,” begins on Tuesday with a pre-program of workshops at Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, the largest in the country, and at the Instituto Guimarães Rosa. Topics include academic writing, cinema, and artificial intelligence.
“We want to give these young people opportunities they have never had before — such as access to speakers and experts from all Portuguese-speaking countries and the diaspora, who, as researchers and senior scientists, can meet them in person for the first time,” added Cristina Molares D’Abreu.
The program includes more than 40 speakers from CPLP countries and the diaspora, as well as scientific presentations by around 60 selected young researchers.
“We want local science to emerge from here, connect with the international community, and bring value as Africans. We want to move away from viewing Africa as poor or negative, and instead transform the mindset of these young people so they can grow and value this continent,” she concluded.
