Opening session Opening of the 2026-2027 Academic Year of ULusófona's Institute of Education

To mark the start of the 2026–2027 academic year, the Institute of Education at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Education and Administration is hosting a conference and debate with Professor Cristiano Gianolla.

Cristiano Gianolla is a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) at the University of Coimbra, where he is deputy coordinator of the research line ‘Democracy, Justice and Human Rights’. He holds a PhD in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Coimbra and Sapienza University of Rome. His research focuses on topics including democracy, post-colonialism, populism, intercultural dialogue, citizenship and migration.

He coordinates European research projects under the Horizon Europe programme and is the coordinator of the curricular unit ‘Democratic Theories and Institutions’ at the University of Coimbra. He is the author and co-editor of six books and the monograph Decentring Liberal-Democracy through Duty and Intercultural Democratisation (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming, open access).

The conference and debate, entitled ‘“Duty” as a Link in Democratic Resistance and Reinvention in the Face of the Pedagogy of Autocratic Hierarchy’, invites reflection on the role of duty in democratic resistance and reinvention in response to autocratic hierarchies.

The event marks the start of another academic year at the Institute of Education of Lusófona University - Lisbon University Centre.

Programme

16h00 | Welcome session

• António Teodoro, Director of the Institute of Education
• António Costa Pinto, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Education and Administration
• José Bragança de Miranda, Rector of Lusófona University

16h30 | Conference and debate

• Cristiano Gianolla, CES, University of Coimbra
• Topic: ‘“Duty” as a Link in Democratic Resistance and Reinvention in the Face of the Pedagogy of Autocratic Hierarchy’

17h30 | Refreshments and networking