The Mayor of Loulé, Vítor Aleixo, accompanied by the councilor and director of the MED Festival, Carlos Carmo, and the municipal director, Dália Paulo, was on the Island of Santiago, in Cape Verde, on a courtesy visit at the invitation of the Minister of Culture and Creative Industries of that country, Augusto Veiga.
The delegation was received by the Prime Minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva, in a welcome session that took place at the government headquarters in Praia.
At another point during the visit, during a meeting with the Minister of Culture and Creative Industries, the parties identified their interest and desire to deepen future cooperation in areas such as Culture, Heritage, Tourism, Education, among others, through collaborative projects that will strengthen this institutional relationship and, above all, benefit the communities of Loulé and Cape Verde. This connection began in 2000, the year in which the Municipality of Loulé signed a twinning agreement with Boavista, symbolizing the beginning of this municipal cooperation between the two territories.
It should be remembered that in this year's edition, the MED Festival had Cape Verde as its "Guest Country", with a program that brought music, visual arts, gastronomy and crafts from this country to the Historic Area of Loulé, in what was a true showcase of all the diversity and cultural richness of this Archipelago.
"In the year that Cape Verde celebrates 50 years of independence, it has been an honor for the Municipality of Loulé to be part of this event, first with the focus on Cape Verdean culture at the 21st MED Festival, and now also with this meeting where we continue to project a shared future. This outreach is also a way for us to honor the large Cape Verdean community residing in Loulé, which has contributed significantly to the development of our municipality over the decades," stated the Mayor of Loulé.
It's worth noting that during this tour of Santiago Island, Vítor Aleixo and his team had the opportunity to visit some heritage and cultural landmarks such as the Old Town, the Tarrafal Concentration Camp, the National Library of Cape Verde, the Ildo Lobo Palace of Culture, and the Cesária Évora Academy of Arts. They also visited an association benefiting from the ministerial Grant for Access to Culture program.
The Loulé delegation concluded the program with a visit to a neighborhood association that works to promote the inclusion of children from poor and vulnerable families through art and music.
An agreement is being prepared on both sides that can establish and structure for the future the good cooperation that exists between the Municipality of Loulé and Cape Verdean entities.
