MARE attends Luís Montenegro's visit to ARDITI

On April 22, Luís Montenegro, President of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and current Prime Minister of Portugal, began his political journey in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. The first item on his agenda was a visit to the facilities of ARDITI - the Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation, located in Funchal. This visit, of an institutional and political nature, was aimed at recognizing and valuing the work carried out by the region's scientific and technological entities. 

During his visit, the Prime Minister was accompanied by several leading figures from the national and regional political scene. Among them, Miguel Albuquerque, President of the Regional Government of Madeira and leader of PSD-Madeira, Hugo Soares, secretary-general of PSD, Jorge Carvalho, regional secretary for Education, Science and Technology, as well as José Manuel Rodrigues, current president of CDS-PP/Madeira.

One of the central moments of the visit was the institutional presentation on the work carried out by ARDITI and its partners, with a special focus on the role of science, research and innovation as strategic drivers for the region's development. 

Among the representatives of the scientific community present was researcher João Canning-Clode, who accompanied the visit on behalf of MARE. “I had the opportunity to explain MARE's mission to the Prime Minister in just a few minutes. MARE-Madeira in particular has grown a lot in recent years, from just one researcher to around 40 resident researchers representing more than 12 nationalities. We also have a number of European projects underway. In fact, MARE-Madeira's operation depends almost exclusively on competitive European funding,” says the researcher. 

Researchers Filipe Alves and Dinarte Vieira, who were also present, “had the opportunity to demonstrate some of the research we do, including cetacean telemetry, low-cost solutions for mapping the deep sea and even virtual diving”. Their presence helped reinforce MARE's position as a national and international reference in marine research, highlighting its commitment to the sustainability of the oceans and the production of scientific knowledge with a real impact on society.

This meeting thus underlined the strategic importance of science and innovation in the current political context, demonstrating the government's willingness to get closer to research institutions and support their work as pillars of economic, social and environmental development.