Crónica

Isabelle de Oliveira

The poet Friedrich von Schiller once wrote that “Language is the mirror of a nation.” And it’s in this mirror of nations with guests from different parts of the world, but with the issue of Lusophony very present and at the center of our concerns and motivations, that the International Economic Forum took place, also giving impetus to the mission of the Instituto do Mundo Lusófono (Lusophone World Institute) (IMLus). This Forum was a stage for analysis, debate of ideas and proposals in the pursuit of a dynamic of construction of a Lusophone economic space, which is also a reflection of the best we do in the Lusophone world at many other levels.

At the right time, the Strategy and Economic Development Department of the Instituto do Mundo Lusófono decided to organize this initiative, making it possible to intensify ties and promote business opportunities. Lusophony represents a world-economy, emerging in several aspects and forms a geographical area with stable borders and a political, linguistic and cultural ecosystem. The common denominator of this great Lusophone concept of prosperity is, without a doubt, the Portuguese language, a language of culture and diplomacy, but also an entrepreneurial language of the future, spoken by 60% of young people under 30 years old, learned daily by more than 100 million students and the fourth most used language on the Internet.

May 5th was established by UNESCO as World Portuguese Language Day, something very important but more needs to be done because we know the influence of the Portuguese language in the world in all its dimensions: political, cultural, educational, economic, media, scientific, technical, geographical, sports, among others, while ensuring the promotion of the common values of Portuguese-speaking peoples. We know that sharing a language is an important negotiation facilitator. The Portuguese language could become a fluid and radiant network of solidary economic cooperation among its hundreds of millions of speakers, something that has not been properly developed. In this Forum, this issue has been addressed many times and the fact that a real investment and appreciation of the language as a huge potential for other dimensions has not yet been made, as I mentioned before, far beyond the economy, in the case of culture, citizenship, among others …

But at this international Forum, economics was the subject of analysis, involving distinguished speakers and participants: diplomats, policymakers, economists, specialists in the field of finance, entrepreneurs, scholars in the field of sociology, communication, academics, association leaders, public managers and deprived of the Lusophone and Francophone world, that is, to give voice to latinhood. It was well understood how fundamental it is to look at the challenges that lie ahead, but also at our abilities, idiosyncrasies, capacity for dialogue and the ability to dream. Yes, many interventions focused on this ability to dream of a more sustainable and humanist future, values that the Lusophone and Francophone world embrace. In fact, after two consecutive crises, as is the case of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, we could not, we should not close our eyes to the global consequences that resulted and the question was imposed, how can Lusophony position yourself in this changing world? Crises, as highlighted in several interventions, showed weaknesses, revealed unreliable partnerships, wrong investments, but they are also unique windows of opportunity, and must be seen not only from the side of fatality, but also from the opportunity. Opportunity to do things differently, to do more, to transform, to reinvent ourselves.

Looking to other partners, trusting countries that have the same identity and values and not allowing dependencies like it has happened until now with vaccines, and later, with oil, gas and cereals. In fact, if the weak autonomy of countries led to a critical situation, the same happened with countries that were extraordinarily focused on a single area of development, such as tourism, for example. It is necessary, as our distinguished speakers concluded, there must be greater plurality and less dependence. Many speakers presented the potential of their countries, such as Brazil or Angola, with so many resources awaiting greater cooperation between the Portuguese-speaking world.

This urgency for cooperation, a word that has been repeated many times, as well as the word inclusion, has brought to the debate the very wise African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go in a group”. We will go far with partners who cherish common values, such as democracy and human rights, and are linked by affection. Training and education (youth and adults), digital transformation, were also defined as pillars in this new world. In fact, the potential of each country and the desire to invest in cooperation allow us to rebalance the world in another way, through partnerships that promote a sustainable economy, with a view to Development rather than growth, guided by the defense of Human Rights.

IMLus is also proof that noble projects can be created from civil society and with the support of the business world, which plays a decisive role here, and only in this way can we take the colors of lusophony even further, writing a new page of Lusofonia, more modern and progressive. I can conclude that with this International Economic Forum we were able to fulfill the objectives proposed by the IMLus: to develop knowledge in the great stakes of the globalization of economies, enhancing relations between the Portuguese-speaking world, strengthening ties between the Portuguese-speaking and French-speaking communities - an opportunity for the meeting of economic decision-makers and entrepreneurs, in order to exchange ideas on new perspectives for entrepreneurship, giving visibility to companies, encouraging and facilitating business opportunities (market economy, green economy, blue economy, social economy, sport economy, tourism economy, cultural and creative industries.

From the analysis of the situation to the debate of ideas, there were very interesting proposals. The common wish was to hold a Forum with a suggested theme. In this world in permanent mutation, with constant challenges that force us to make resilience, sometimes, the only possible weapon to face the challenges, there are people and institutions of excellence and, I would say, extraordinary, that are moved by philanthropy and by the values of humanism, which change the way we see and perceive the world and which, ultimately, lead us to believe in the dream of a society and a better world!

Thus, IMLus wanted to honor individuals who stand out in various areas, inspiring people, to whom we gave trophies and became our Ambassadors: the great international player Daniel Alves of FC Barcelona, the businessman Luís de Sousa, known as our Portuguese Bill Gates, the fantastic Maria Alice Medina, Founder of Rock in Rio and the illustrious sociologist Sabah Abouessalam Morin, wife of the universal thinker Edgar Morin. Considered distinguished personalities as Honorary Members for their mission in favor of the Institute’s values, such as Vítor Ramalho, Horácio Barra, João Pimenta, António Laranjeira, Dominique Restino, Aguinaldo Jaime, Bruno Lair, Gonçalo Nuno Santos, Maurício Santos, Tomás Pinto Gonçalves, Paulo Pereira. And the Sponsors were thanked for without them this memorable event would not have been possible, awarding him medals for his noble action in favor of Lusophony.

Finally, I would also like to point out that this Forum was also a milestone in the history of the Institute and the creation, in Portugal, of the IMLus will count on the support of institutions and companies, on its way to continue to grow towards a universal lusophony in partnership with all those who already work for the same cause. I cannot fail to mention the golden key reserved for the closing session: the virtual presence of the former President of Brazil, Dr. José Sarney, with an emotional message, full of meaning and inspiring for all of us to whom we are very grateful. I thank all those who believed in this idea, who said they were present and who were willing to share, in the beautiful Centro Cultural de Belém, all this proactive and certainly differentiating knowledge.