Message from the President of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon

The presidency of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon , a national scientific institution of public interest with almost two and a half centuries of continuous existence, is certainly an honor, but it is above all a challenge.

Fifty years after April 25th, the Academy of Sciences is going through a new cycle in which it is equipping itself with the conditions to meet the expectations of the scientific revolution we are experiencing. Whether through the promotion, dissemination and public sharing of the knowledge produced by its members and the academic networks they are part of, or through the enhancement and facilitation of open access to the immense material and immaterial heritage it preserves, or through lectures, debates and conferences on the great contemporary challenges, the Academy continues to be guided by the verse of Phaedrus Nisi utile est quod facimus stulta est gloria If what we do is not useful, vain is the glory 

Sharing the vision of its illustrious honorary member, “with the ambition that it must assume, without complexes, to become, as when it was created, and in some other high moments of its history, the most expressive forum of the best Portuguese intelligence” , the Lisbon Academy of Sciences should continue and deepen the promotion of the Sciences and the Portuguese language, from research to its communication and improvement, through the realization of initiatives open to Society, the promotion of Free Access to Knowledge, scientific and cultural exchange and the preparation of studies and opinions that contribute to making scientific knowledge count in public policies.

José Francisco Rodrigues