The ALIGHT project will shed light on Antarctica's living heritage, building tools to promote the understanding of the continent's cultural diversity. Antarctica is the only place on Earth without a native human population, territorial demarcations, or urbanization. Human presence is historically recent, beginning approximately two centuries ago. Since 1960, the occupation of Antarctica by people has been officially regulated by the Antarctic Treaty to occur temporarily, by seasonal rotation, with a focus on scientific research activities, and conditioned to generate only minimal environmental impacts. Logistical cooperation between countries and the cohabitation of researchers, military, and technical professionals, then became determining factors for coexistence on Antarctic stations. Such factors contribute to the development of a unique set of practices, memories, and cultural expressions, not mentioned or included in discourses and inventories of global cultural heritage. But, considering all these particularities, after all, what kind of intangible heritage does Antarctica embody? To begin proposing solutions to this gap, we aim to collect and analyze data on the intersection of cultural and natural heritage in Antarctica, mapping the living heritage in the region and informing directions for future studies.

AI4PA Portugal's strategic objectives and action plan are clearly aligned with the main focus areas of the Digital Transition Action Plan:    Pillar I - Empowerment and digital inclusion of people    Pillar II - Digital transformation of the business fabric    Pillar III - Digitalisation of the State    The Centre's activity will pursue six strategic objectives, aligned with the Digital Transition Action Plan, namely: optimising public policies in the various areas of governance based on Artificial Intelligence and the promotion of innovative digital technological solutions; improving the interaction of public services with citizens and businesses; assessing the social impacts and ethical implications of technologies, including Artificial Intelligence; increasing the digital skills of public entities and the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that provide them with services; disseminating good practices and reusable solutions of national and international origin; and improving governance for the digital transition at the various levels of state intervention.    AI4PA Portugal aligns its intervention with the model established in the European network of Digital Innovation Hubs, targeting the priority services of the Digital Innovation Hubs described in the Digital Transition Action Plan,    1- Experimentation and testing of digital technologies in the phase prior to the investment decision; 2- Qualification and training in digital skills; 3- Support in finding funding for investment in digital technologies; 4- Acting as a facilitator bringing together different actors.  

Following the ICOMOS study “The World Heritage list: filling the gaps – an action plan for the future” and the Global Strategy of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) encouraging State Parties to submit nominations on the 20th century Heritage, ICOMOS-Portugal presented an Ensemble of works of Álvaro Siza for the World Heritage (WH) Tentative List, in 2017.  Siza is not only an Architect of national relevance, but also international; as one can count the design of approximately 500 projects and built works (spread across 4 continents and 16 countries), more than 100 distinctions and awards, 19 PhDs Honorary degrees, hundreds of dedicated publications. Despite the international recognition of the quality of Siza’s architecture, there is not yet a complete and systematic inventory of his built works. The information is usually scattered, partial or incomplete. The existent literature focuses more on formal questions of the project, and little on the constructive and technical dimension of his works, on the state of conservation of the buildings, or on possible threats affecting them. In this framework, the scope of SizaATLAS project is to address a comprehensive inventory of all of Siza’s built works, and to develop a detailed documentation and analysis of the 18 buildings selected for the WH List. This research and the comparison with other contemporary architecture will result in a better understanding of the unique value of Siza’s architecture, in a national and international context. This will be key to establish the justification of the Oustanding Universal Value (OUV) of his work, its national protection and an effective management system to support the instruction of Siza’s works nomination for the WH List. The research intends to develop: 1) a COLLABORATIVE PLATFORM for open access, which will allow database management and exchange, as well as forms' compilation and research dissemination; 2) a georeferenced INVENTORY of all the built works by Siza, ...