CEsA E-books
A Cooperação Europeia para o Desenvolvimento em 2024: Desafios e perspectivas
Abstract:
In a year of European Parliament (EP) elections, and amid growing global uncertainty, the study “European Development Cooperation in 2024: Challenges and Perspectives” was created following the publication “The Future of International Development Cooperation: Fragmentation, Adaptation, and Innovation in a Changing World” (2021). In this study, we outline the latest developments in the European Union’s (EU) international development cooperation (IDC) at the institutional and policy levels, highlighting the role of the European Parliament. We also examine the relationship between Portuguese IDC and its European counterpart, emphasizing the centrality of partner countries in the Portuguese-Speaking African Countries and Timor-Leste (PALOP-TL) and the role of civil society. We conclude with reflections on the implications for European cooperation, Portuguese cooperation, and civil society given the increasing importance of geopolitics in the current global context, the political-institutional transformations observed in European IDC, and the likely configuration of the EP for the new legislature, where it is expected that political forces opposing development cooperation will be strengthened.
Cite this ebook:
Bernardo, Luís Pais, Luís Mah e Ana Luísa Silva (2024). A cooperação europeia para o desenvolvimento em 2024 : desafios e perspectivas. Lisboa: Plataforma Portuguesa das ONGD
A certificação de sustentabilidade na Indústria Têxtil Portuguesa: um estudo exploratório
Abstract:
This study analyzes sustainability certification in the Portuguese textile industry. The main objective is to map the current landscape of sustainable practices adopted by this crucial sector of the Portuguese economy, evaluating the implications, challenges, and benefits of certification in the contemporary economic and environmental context. We aim to understand how sustainability certifications can serve as a strategic tool to boost the competitiveness of Portuguese companies in the global market, responding to the growing demand for ethical and environmentally conscious products.
The methodology employed in this study involves a review of the existing literature on sustainability in the textile industry. Essentially, it is a hybrid and comparative analysis, utilizing the complete universe of certified Portuguese textile companies. While this focused approach does not answer all questions, it allows this study to take a small step towards research committed to supporting companies that, despite clear risks and costs, choose to invest in sustainability. It also addresses the societal pressure that can and should be exerted on legislators to implement stronger regulatory frameworks and on companies that decide not to invest in sustainability.
This is a small step we hope will lead to further research efforts. We offer a perspective on the role of sustainability certification as a competitive differentiator for the Portuguese textile industry. The study emphasizes the growing importance of sustainability as a selection criterion for consumers and international business partners, reinforcing the need for Portuguese companies to continue investing in sustainable practices and obtaining certifications that validate their efforts. The study also presents and discusses recommendations for future policies and strategies, aiming to strengthen Portugal’s position as a leader in sustainable textile production on the global stage.
Cite this ebook:
Bernardo, Luís Pais (2024). A certificação de sustentabilidade na Indústria Têxtil Portuguesa : um estudo exploratório. Lisboa: Oficina Global.
Primeiro Passo Repensar: Um olhar sobre o consumo de moda sustentável dos jovens universitários em Portugal
Abstract:
Sustainable fashion consumption involves conscious choices in purchasing, using/maintaining, and disposing of each clothing item. Therefore, it is important to Rethink, Reject, Reduce, Repair, Reuse, and Recycle. This study aimed to understand the behaviors and environmental awareness of university students living in Portugal during the three main phases of fashion consumption. An online questionnaire survey was conducted among 271 university students aged 18 to 26. The survey was open for responses from June 15 to July 24, 2023.
Cite this ebook:
Silva, Ana Luísa e Renata Assis (2024). Primeiro passo repensar: um olhar sobre o consumo de moda sustentável dos jovens universitários em Portugal. Lisboa: FEC | Fundação Fé e Cooperação e CEsA/ISEG-UL.
Algodão, uma fibra global
Abstract:
Cotton doesn’t lie. This well-known idiom in Portugal highlights how the most important natural fiber — both historically and commercially — has woven itself into our lives. Yet, while cotton doesn’t deceive, it does conceal. It’s more than just a fiber; it’s an entire global industry. It shapes production and consumption patterns, directly impacting the lives of millions worldwide. Cotton influences the fate of soils and water sources and significantly affects the environment. It encompasses agriculture, fashion, and high technology. Cotton has a complex and often troubling history: it can be sweet, but it’s also bitter. Its soft touch belies the complexity of its life cycle, which spans from cotton fields in Burkina Faso to garment factories in Bangladesh, fashion runways in Milan, and algorithms in New York. This distribution isn’t arbitrary: the value gap —evident in the income disparity between a field worker in Burkina Faso, a factory manager in Bangladesh, and a top designer in Milan — illustrates global inequalities. Cotton connects these diverse landscapes and activities. This briefing is for anyone who wants to understand the fashion they wear and the fibers they choose. It’s also for decision-makers regulating cotton production and consumption. Responsible consumption is a key step in altering economic structures, but it’s rarely enough on its own. Our aim is clear: meaningful action requires clarity, knowledge, and information.
Cite this ebook:
Bernardo, Luís Pais (2023). Algodão, uma fibra global. Lisboa: FEC | Fundação Fé e Cooperação.
Book of Papers Presented at the In Progress 3 Seminar
Abstract:
This third edition of In Progress, Seminar on Social Sciences and Development in Africa brings together works by researchers and postgraduate students whose study and research theme is contemporary Africa and its development, supported by scientific currents that stimulate new approaches beyond the “development”, exploring the notions of “well-being” or “good living” and remaining close to currents of thought and debates between Africa, Asia and Latin America. The texts include themes such as: fieldwork: practical, theoretical and methodological issues; politics, civil society dynamics, development; culture, thought and change; strategies for cooperation and development; and populations, mobility and well-being. The second part of this work contains the reflections of the speakers invited to the In Progress 3 seminar, which include both a critical perspective on the dominant discourses and methodologies in the field of development policies linked to mobilities, economy and identities, as well as the contribution of financial growth for economic growth and several of the issues to be taken into account in discussions on economic sustainability, taking the example of SADC member countries. The final conference refers to the times and questions that are important to retain and what is important to reflect on in the context of social and human sciences, in particular, when the debate is about the (neo)colonial perspective and contemporary global challenges for African Studies.
Cite this e-book:
Évora, Iolanda e Sónia Frias (coord). 2024. Livro das Comunicações Apresentadas no In Progress 3 com Revisão por Pares : 15 a 16 de Novembro de 2018 no ISEG/ULisboa. Lisboa: ISEG – CEsA
Observando Direitos na Guiné-Bissau: Educação, saúde, habitação, água, energia, saneamento, justiça, meios de subsistência
Quotation:
Sangreman, C. (2017). Observando Direitos na Guiné-Bissau – educação, saúde, habitação, água, energia, saneamento, justiça, meios de subsistência. Lisboa: ACEP, com LGDH e CEsA. ISBN 978-989-8625-16-8
Observando Direitos na Guiné-Bissau: Educação, saúde, habitação, água, energia, saneamento, justiça, meios de subsistência
Quotation:
Sangreman, C. (2016). Observando Direitos na Guiné-Bissau – educação, saúde, habitação, água, energia, saneamento, justiça, meios de subsistência. Lisboa: ACEP, com LGDH e CEsA. ISBN 978-989-8625-14-4
Observando Direitos na Guiné-Bissau: Educação, saúde, habitação, água, energia, justiça
Quotation:
Sangreman, C. (2015). Observando Direitos na Guiné-Bissau – educação, saúde, habitação, água, energia, justiça. Lisboa: ACEP, com LGDH e CEsA. ISBN 978-989-8625-07-6.
Diálogos de Campo – Pesquisas de Campo Participativas em Debate
Abstract:
This volume brings together concerns that serve as the basis for a continued debate on the mutual implications of research in the field of Social Sciences. The texts start from the common observation about the weakening of demands about “how we do it” in social research and deal with aspects related to fieldwork that are increasingly losing space in academia, essentially focused on producing results. From the fields of Social Sciences, Cinema, Literature, and Psychology, among others, the themes move between the dimensions of power hierarchies in research and the contexts that exponentiate them; the position and positionality of the researcher, and where we are placed by our interlocutors or people in the situations addressed. Specifically, they reflect on participatory methodologies and changes in knowledge production; ethnography and epistemic decolonization when the researcher does research in their life context; the interferences and determinations dictated by the field, during research; collaborative or participatory research, whether with refugee associations, in the field of artistic training or action research on bicycles and the city. Furthermore, the researcher’s subjectivity and writing regarding anti-racist cinema are addressed; as the implications of the researchers themselves in researching topics such as the impact of the pandemic on women, cultural heritage, or an object present, simultaneously, on different continents. The classic questions of the debate on methodology are present, which are, in fact, the foundations of current affairs, bringing different nuances of the contemporary debate, in social research, at a time when easier access to information reduces the distance and access of society (and the subjects of social research) to the knowledge about themselves produced in academia. This book was designed within the scope of the methodology workshops of the Afro-Port project (FCT/CEsA) and coincides with the project’s objective of contributing to a program in horizontal methodology and grounded methodology that is original, innovative and transdisciplinary, sustained by the interest in dialogue between academic and non-academic/scientific and non-scientific discourse.
Quotation:
Évora, I. e Amorim, S. (2023). “Diálogos de Campo – Pesquisas de Campo Participativas em Debate”. Lisboa, CEsA/CSG. ISBN 978-989-54687-4-4