Continuous training to enhance the skills of culture professionals, adjustments to copyright laws for digital realities like artificial intelligence, and promotion of minority linguistic heritage, specifically Mirandese and Barranquenho, are among the measures included in the government’s program. The creation of the National Commission for the celebrations of the 900th anniversary of the Battle of São Mamede is also planned.
In cinema and audiovisual sectors, the program mentions the “Financing Program for the Audiovisual and Cinema Industry SCRI.PT,” aiming to support the development and internationalization of audiovisual and cinematic productions in Portugal to boost the national industry and strengthen the country’s position as a tourist destination.
This program was approved in April by the Council of Ministers and requires coordination between the ministries of Culture, Youth and Sports, led by Margarida Balseiro Lopes, and Parliamentary Affairs, led by Carlos Abreu Amorim.
The legislative decree outlines a total allocation of 250 million euros and was open for public consultation by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs until the end of this week.
One outlined measure proposes merging current cinema production incentives ‘cash rebate’ and ‘cash refund.’ Another suggests creating a 50 million euro production support credit line, managed by the Portuguese Development Bank, in coordination with Tourism Portugal and the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual.
In artistic promotion, the government’s program plans to “implement a national strategy for artistic creation in performing and visual arts, support local and subregional cultural development strategies promoting social and territorial cohesion,” and decentralize responsibilities to strengthen the role of municipalities and regions in Culture.
Establishing “a national program to support independent programming, residency, incubation, and artistic creation structures” is also included in the artistic promotion area.
Another initiative is developing “a financing line for the economic revitalization of craftsmanship alongside the teaching of artisanal techniques,” implying strengthening or expanding the Saber Fazer program.
In cultural heritage protection, the government aims to “draft a specific inventory and rehabilitation plan for buildings with high cultural value” and complete the digitization process.
The objectives also include “enhancing safeguard measures,” such as inventory, classification, monitoring, rehabilitation, and restoration, preventing “damage or destruction,” involving museums, local communities, civil society organizations, companies, and international institutions, and combating “crime and vandalism against monuments.”
For the Portuguese language, plans include strengthening it “as a heritage of identity and global value, within a national and international promotion strategy,” and protecting minority languages, particularly Mirandese and Barranquenho, with promotion efforts and completing the ratification process of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
The establishment of the National Commission for the celebrations of the 900th anniversary of the Battle of São Mamede (1128), a founding date of nationality, and implementing the programmatic lines of Évora European Capital of Culture 2027 conclude the Culture section in the government’s program.
The Program of the XXV Constitutional Government, approved last Thursday by the Council of Ministers, was delivered today to the Assembly of the Republic and will be discussed in plenary sessions on June 17 and 18.
