On 22 January, the city of Évora hosted the fourth conference of the Academy of Slowness, held at the Palácio de D. Manuel at 6:00 pm. Titled “I walk slowly because I was once in a hurry”: Slowness as a political proposal in Brazil, the event was led by Pedro Hussak Van Velthen Ramos, Associate Professor of Aesthetics at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ).
Throughout the conference, the speaker explored alternative ways of inhabiting the planet, contrasting the ideology of progress promoted during the Brazilian military dictatorship—associated with the destruction of the Amazon in the 1970s—with the recent emergence of Indigenous artists and intellectuals in urban and Westernised environments. According to Van Velthen Ramos, these alternative forms of existence are deeply connected to an aesthetic dimension—specifically, to the sensitivity of the forest.
The Academy of Slowness, curated by Jacinto Lageira (University of Paris I – Sorbonne), unfolds over 27 months, until December 2027. Its main aim is to foster critical thinking and collective creation, placing the idea of slowness at the heart of a new proposal for Europe and the world.
Its programme features international conferences, talks, meetings, and workshops—all free of charge—with the participation of philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, artists, and other thinkers from diverse fields. Together, they contribute to the development of new perspectives on time, culture, human existence, and the relationship with our surroundings.
The Academy’s events are scheduled through to March 2026, and remain open to the public in various formats and settings.
