The president of the LPAZ Association, António Monteiro, argues that it is vital for the Azores to secure a place in the space sector. “Are they useful in this new technology? If so, it will be crucial for Portugal, the region in particular, and for Europe as a whole. If not, or if the Azores and Portugal are not present in this new technology, perhaps the Azores could miss the boat that they have always caught over the centuries, participating in major technological, communications, and transportation movements in the Atlantic. If that happens, the islands will lose value and become just another tourist destination and little else,” he told the Diário Insular (DI) newspaper published on Terceira Island, Azores.

The association is organizing the LPAZ 2025 Forum – “Atlantic Bridges: Culture, Politics, and Knowledge,” which will take place from Monday to Wednesday on the island of Santa Maria.

In the middle of this month, it was reported that the Portuguese consortium AtlanticSpaceport Consortium had obtained a five-year authorization to launch rockets from the island of Santa Maria. Following the approval of the application submitted in December, the first flight is scheduled for May 2026. The forum discusses Atlantic issues in a “holistic” way, but the topic of space is unavoidable.

“Historically, the Azores have always played an important role in transportation and communications in the North Atlantic. Since the discovery and settlement of the Azores, they have served as a support base for transatlantic navigation. In various periods, whenever new transport or communications technology was introduced, whether it was lateen sailing, steam ships, submarine cables, or later aviation… The Azores played their part and made their presence felt. They were an instrument for Portugal to assert itself in the international context,” explained António Monteiro, who now hopes that the same will happen with the space sector.

However, the region needs to be objective, he said. “There is a possibility that it will be like what happened with aviation, where in the 20th century the Azores were fundamental for transatlantic connections and then in the 20th century they ceased to be fundamental. The downgrading of Lajes and the abandonment of Santa Maria airport began in the 20th century. From the 1970s and 1980s onwards, the Americans no longer needed Lajes Base as much as a support base for aviation, because in the meantime, aircraft already allowed most flights to be overflights. Of course, the Americans don’t want another tenant to move in,” he explained.

If the Azores are not essential today in aviation and maritime transport, in the space sector, this period may run out even faster. “In the case of aviation, it was about 25 years. Perhaps with space, we are talking about 10 to 15 years,” reflected the association’s president.

There are also difficult calculations to be made. “Another challenge here is what added value this really brings to the Azores. In the days of aviation and other technologies, it was necessary to create jobs on the islands themselves. Today, with digitalization, it’s different. We have a space debris radar, a series of other antennas, through which a lot of information collected by satellites circulates. It is almost impossible to know the real value of this information and ‘charge rent’ or taxes on the value that is generated from this information. When a plane landed, it was a tangible event. In aerospace, everything is more intangible,” he pointed out.

Even so, the journey on the space “train,” which goes beyond rocket launches, should be worthwhile. “The Azores must be present and use this moment to value all the other substrate, its natural heritage. Marine reserves are important, the ocean floor, surveillance of those who sail here,” he advocated.

To understand the whole picture, a diverse approach is needed, which the forum, now in its sixth edition, has adopted. “None of these factors can be looked at in isolation,” he assured.

How the Arctic is changing

What is happening in the Arctic influences the Azores. The topic will also be discussed at the international meeting in Santa Maria, which will bring together around 30 speakers. “The melting of the Arctic affects the entire strategy and geostrategy of the various areas of the Atlantic,” summarized António Monteiro.

The Arctic issue was put on the media agenda, driven by Donald Trump’s statements regarding Greenland. “It has to do with that, with how the Arctic is becoming a space for navigation and how that changes the centralities of the Atlantic. The form of mobility in the Atlantic, where we have the Panama Canal and the Strait of Gibraltar as key points, may change in the future,” he pointed out. “The forum tries to address all these issues undergoing transformation in the Atlantic. One of the great tools for doing this is a transdisciplinary approach. We examine these issues from the perspectives of literature, geopolitics, political science, history, and economics. Not only in the present, but also in other times. This allows us to build bridges to the future and better analyze what is happening,” he emphasized.

The president of the LPAZ association described the event as “an initiative of the Azorean community itself, particularly the people of São Marinho.”

It is a goal for this community to “have better tools to understand what is happening, technological developments, and the evolution of times and policies,” he said.

Essentially, it is about adopting an active stance. “How do we fit into the Atlantic? During the 20th century, and especially during World War II, the Azores served as a stage for the needs of various states, belligerent or not, a somewhat passive backdrop, without much reflection on what was happening. That time has passed. We want us, the Azoreans, to be part of a new era, in which we have a better understanding of these phenomena that affect us and that make these islands different from other archipelagos that do not have this geostrategic value,” emphasized António Monteiro.

Book launch included in the program–The international meeting

The LPAZ 2025 Forum, with the theme “Atlantic Bridges: Culture, Politics, and Knowledge,” will take place in Santa Maria from September 1 to 3.

The first two days will be an academic conference held in the auditorium of the Municipal Library of Vila do Porto, open to the public and broadcast online, with English and French as the working languages.

The second part will be the Geostrategic Tour on September 3, which “will take participants on a tour of the sites of greatest geostrategic value in the past, present, and future on the island of Santa Maria.”

The program includes the launch of the book “OneAtlantic, manyperspectives – valuing diversity in the age of competition,” coordinated by Licínia Simão, António Monteiro, Ana Mónica Fonseca, José Domingues Almeida, and Diniz Borges, and published by Bruma Publications and the LPAZ Association, through Letras Lavadas.

The work is the result of papers presented at the 2024 edition of the LPAZ Forum.

The forum is run in partnership with the Center for International Studies at Iscte-Lisbon University Institute (CEI-Iscte), the Faculty of Economics at the University of Coimbra (FEUC), the Center for Humanistic Studies at the University of the Azores (CEHu), CHAM – Center for Humanities (UAc/NOVA), the Atlantic Center, the Portuguese Association of French Studies (APEF), the Margarida Losa Institute of Comparative Literature (ILCML), and the Transatlantic Studies Association.

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.