The theme for the conversation between visual artist Joana Vasconcelos, Juliet Kinsman, journalist for Condé Naste, and Roberta Medina, the businesswoman responsible for Rock in Rio, was provided by the “Ideas that change the world”, exploring new paths and critical themes for the future of tourism, culture and sustainability. 

“Not only do I believe that we have a lot of good things to share, but I also believe that we will learn a lot from all those who come to visit us. We may, above all, value ourselves much more than we sometimes do, however, other eyes do. It is sharing that makes an evolution and a new dimension of us”, defends Joana Vasconcelos.

To differentiate itself, the artist believes that Portugal should mainly “emphasize the country’s qualities which involve valuing heritage, culture, territory, in its different aspects, and taking this, through communication, to other places where we are not known". In this sense, “communication and sharing are fundamental to attract people into our country, to come and discover us but also to share their culture with us - because sharing leads to evolution”. However, “sharing without a narrative, without an idea, without a dream, is not very successful. On the other hand, if we share something negative, if we share anger, fear or insecurity, it's not transformative, doesn't make us evolve.” And “nowadays it is very important to be positive and look to the future from a perspective of evolutionary transformation”. Change, as with almost everything, starts with the individual: “the idea that we can all contribute [to a better world] comes from within us. We can always choose a positive attitude over a negative attitude. Sometimes it's hard to do, but it's possible.”

The conversation took place at Oceanário in Parque das Nações (Lisbon) and was powered by NEST - Tourism Innovation Center, within the scope of the event "What's Next - Innovating Tourism".

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