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The International Congress “O Montado in the rural development of the Southwest Peninsular” was held from 21 to 22 September in Ponte de Sor and Coruche, respectively.
On the first day, the opening session in the auditorium of the Ponte de Sor Arts and Culture Center was in charge of the Councilor for the Environment of the municipality of Ponte de Sor, Alda Monteiro Falca.
The first panel counted on the multidisciplinary participation of national speakers who discussed the theme of Tourism from the perspective of the potential and importance of cork oak and cork for the promotion of tourism in Portugal, mainly in the Alentejo and Ribatejo region. The second panel of the day, which added economics to the debate, featured speakers from the University of Extremadura and Spanish companies Advante Consulting Innovation and Gestiona Global.
On Saturday, September 21, the Mayor of Coruche, Francisco Silvestre de Oliveira, inaugurated the second day of the International Congress. The Cork Oak and Cork Observatory hosted sessions on archeology and history, innovation, social history and cultural heritage. The debate panels were attended by several national and international speakers, including academics from several universities such as Évora, Porto, Coimbra, Madrid Complutense, Pablo de Olavide (Seville), Extremadura and Murcia. Of the entities that were present, APCOR – Portuguese Association of Cork, UNAC – Union of the Mediterranean Forest, INIAV – National Institute for Agricultural and Veterinary Research and the municipalities of Avis, Odemira, Ponte de Sor and Seixal stood out.