Docentes ULusófona participate in V International Congress of Angolan Studies

The 5th International Congress of Angolan Studies took place once again this year on 29 May 2026 at the National Library in Lisbon (Portugal), bringing together academics, researchers, and specialists to present and discuss research on the political, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions of contemporary Angola.

Organised by the Angola Research Network, the congress was structured around seven thematic panels covering areas as diverse as international relations, geopolitics, justice, territory, culture, education, and development. In this context, the opening presentation by Filipe Santos launched the proceedings and framed the central debate of the day: understanding whether Angola is going through decisive years or remains in a period of waiting and uncertainty.

The opening session featured contributions on political transformations by Professor Corentin Cohen of the University of Oxford, with the presentation The Private Bureaucracy of Capitalism: Why Management Consultants, Accountants and Professional Service Firms Matter for Our Understanding of African Politics?, as well as researcher Ana Lúcia Lopes de Sá from ISCTE-IUL, who presented UNITA’s Transformations after 2002: From “Irrelevance” to Nationalisation, Party Dynamics and the Role of Institutions in the African Context.

“Angola: Decisive Years or a Holding Pattern?” was a recurring theme throughout the presentations, which explored issues ranging from politics and economics to justice, territory, culture, and education. At the same time, speakers questioned whether the country is experiencing a moment of structural transformation or remains constrained by institutional and social barriers.

Within this context, particular attention was given to the presentation “The Teaching Profession”, delivered by Maria Neves Gonçalves (ESEL-IPLUSO and CeiED, Portugal), representing a research team composed of Joana Quinta (ISCED-Benguela, Angola), Dulce Franco (ESEL-IPLUSO, Lusófona University, CeiED, Portugal), Micaela Fonseca (Lusófona University, HEI-Lab: Human-Environment Interaction Digital Laboratories, Portugal), and Esmeralda Santo (CeiED, Portugal).

The study comparatively analysed the profiles, motivations, and perceptions of teacher education students in Portugal and Angola, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of educational and socio-professional dynamics within the Portuguese-speaking world.

The congress also included asynchronous contributions via YouTube, extending the reach of debates on digital political communication, leadership, intellectual capital, and public policies related to coloniality—understood in terms of power relations (who decides, who holds authority, who is marginalised), economic structures (patterns of dependency, inequality, and exploitation), knowledge production (the valorisation of European knowledge and the devaluation of local knowledge), and identities and cultures (the imposition of cultural, linguistic, and social norms).

Participants unanimously recognised the excellence of the congress, and a commitment was immediately established to hold the next edition in 2027.