The Olhar Poente – Associação Desenvolvimento has announced the second edition of the Island Congress Looking Toward the Future: Innovating in Pedagogical Intervention, scheduled for October 16 and 17 on Terceira Island.

The event will be held at the Auditório do Ramo Grande and the Academia da Juventude e das Artes da Ilha Terceira, bringing together regional, national, and international specialists in the fields of Education, Psychology, Experimental Sciences, and Inclusion and Diversity.

Following the success of its inaugural edition, the congress returns with an expanded multidisciplinary program designed to strengthen dialogue between educators, researchers, healthcare professionals, families, and the broader community.

“We organize this congress with a profound sense of duty and responsibility toward Education and the Azores,” said association president Sandra Serpa. “It reinforces the importance of creating spaces for the sharing of knowledge, experience, and scientific production.”

Serpa emphasized that a congress of this nature, held within an island context, carries particular significance for the region.

“An event like this, organized in an insular setting, assumes strategic and transformative value, functioning as a concrete tool for local development, educational innovation, and social cohesion,” she stated.

With a hybrid format and international participation, the congress seeks to build bridges between knowledge produced in the Azores and the broader national and international scientific community, while simultaneously giving visibility to educational and research work being developed locally.

The program focuses on themes of growing contemporary relevance, particularly regarding innovation in education and the development of children and youth.

In the area of “Pedagogical Diversity,” speakers include Margarida Pedrosa, Margarida Rodrigues, and Catarina Antunes. The congress will also feature discussion of Waldorf pedagogy through the participation of a guest speaker from Brazil.

The panel dedicated to “The Transversality of Experimental Sciences in Children” will include contributions from Rita Ferreira, João Paiva, Cláudio Gomes, and João Miranda.

Meanwhile, discussions on “Inclusion and Diversity” will feature presentations by Andreia Ferreira, Elisabete Maciel, Ana Luísa Martinho, and Leoter Viegas.

Additional sessions focused on inclusion and learning support needs will include participation from Filomena Pereira, Raquel Raimundo, Luís Águeda, and Filipa Elias.

Participants will also have the opportunity to attend three workshops dedicated to socio-emotional competencies, the importance of play in child development, and parenting skills, led by Raquel Raimundo, Raissa Santos, and Carmem Gonçalves.

The congress will conclude with a keynote presentation by internationally recognized scholar Carlos Neto, considered one of the foremost authorities in the field of child motor development and a longstanding advocate for children’s right to free play.

Roundtable presentations and moderation will be led by regional journalists and members of the organizing committee. The event also includes partnerships with several regional entities, including Lar Doce Livro, which will provide publications related to the congress themes.

For Sandra Serpa, institutional partnerships and sponsorships remain essential to the initiative’s sustainability and impact.

“The support of our partners and patrons is absolutely fundamental to the realization and continuity of this initiative,” she said, noting that their collaboration contributes directly to strengthening the congress’s scientific quality, reach, and social impact.

The organizers are encouraging participation from the educational, academic, and professional communities, as well as the general public, reaffirming their commitment to a more innovative, inclusive, and transformative educational future in the Azores.

Translated and adapted from Press Release