The International Conference “Correspondence(s): The Uses of Letters in the 19th and 20th Centuries” will take place on 3 and 4 March 2026 at ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon. The call for papers is open until 15 February 2026, and researchers interested in this topic are invited to submit proposals.

The conference aims to promote research and interdisciplinary debate on the various uses of correspondence in the 19th and 20th centuries as a historical, cultural, social and political source. It brings together researchers from different fields to reflect on letters as instruments of communication, action, sociability and expression in multiple contexts.

The initiative is part of the project “Common Voices: Organisation and Study of the Correspondence between Citizens and Mário Soares during the Transition to Portuguese Democracy (1974–1978)” (2023.10596.25ABR), funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The conference is organised by the Mário Soares and Maria Barroso Foundation and ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon.

The conference will be held in person. Remote presentations will only be permitted for researchers who are not based in Portugal.

Consult the call for papers: <a href="https://fmsoaresbarroso.pt/uploads/Call_for_papers_Congresso_Internacional_sobre_correspondencia_a4f92ca463.pdf">here</a>

Submit proposals: <a href="https://forms.gle/qr2UvRsQT4Pzx5tJ6">here</a>

Project funded by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. DOI 10.54499/2023.10596.25ABR.

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Mário Soares Centenary

Shared Heritage

International Conference “Correspondence(s): Uses of Letters in the 19th and 20th Centuries”

An international conference in honour of Mário Soares, with the participation of politicians, intellectuals and academics, which concludes the celebrations of Mário Soares' centenary.

The conference will take place at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in 2026.

The initiative is part of the Mário Soares Centenary programme.

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Mário Soares Centenary International Conference

Mário Soares. Portugal: What Revolution?&nbsp;is an exhibition in which images speak and words reveal, forming an alliance where they complement and enrich each other.

Based on a long interview given by Mário Soares to the French journalist Dominique Pouchin (Le Monde) - which would later become the book&nbsp;Portugal: What Revolution?, revisited and updated three decades later - the exhibition presents a vivid account, told in the heat of the moment, close to the events and their main figures. The narrative unfolds like a film, set to the restless soundtrack of the tumultuous sounds and slogans of the&nbsp;PREC&nbsp;(Ongoing Revolutionary Process).

The photographs on display, taken by several renowned photographers, speak with a visual voice as clear and compelling as that of the events themselves, showing how Mário Soares lived and witnessed that decisive period of the Revolution - of which he was one of the main protagonists - in a struggle that helped shape Portugal into a European democracy.

The exhibition is organized by the&nbsp;Organizing Committee for the Centenary of Mário Soares, with the support of the&nbsp;Commission for the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the 25th of April Revolution. It will be on view at the&nbsp;Mário Soares and Maria Barroso Foundation, from&nbsp;17 November 2025 to 31 May 2026, and admission is free.

Opening to the public:&nbsp;17 November 2025:&nbsp;<a href="https://forms.gle/a3i4EoZxccN6ZBXs6">https://forms.gle/a3i4EoZxccN6ZBXs6</a>

Opening hours:&nbsp;Monday to Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Venue:&nbsp;Mário Soares and Maria Barroso Foundation (Rua de S. Bento, 160, Lisbon)

By appointment:&nbsp;<a href="https://forms.gle/jXtrQeuybgEfsw9E6">https://forms.gle/jXtrQeuybgEfsw9E6</a>

This initiative is part of the programme commemorating the Centenary of Mário Soares.

Events