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Conference Venue
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The conference will take place in Fundação de Serralves, one of the most iconic places of Art&Culture in Portugal. ENBENG dates were carefully chosen to be aligned with one of the most important events of the city called São João festival that occurrs on the night of 23 June, just after our conference second day. This is a great opportunity to share your research work with the Bioengineering scientific and enterprise community and fall in love by one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.
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City of Porto
The city of Porto is the second largest in Portugal and the one that gave the country its name very early on (c. 200 BC), when it was called Portus Cale, later becoming the capital of the Condado Portucalense, from which Portugal was then formed. The city played a fundamental role in defending the ideals of liberalism, more specifically in the battles of the 19th century. Since 1996, its historic centre has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A city full of life that is also known for the arts, research, innovation and entrepreneurship. Porto was elected the Best City Break Destination in Europe in 2020, and the best European destination in 2017 for the third consecutive time.
In 2001 it was considered European Capital of Culture and in 2012 elected Best European Destination, by the European Consumers Association. Famous also for the Port wine cellars, for the quality of its restaurants, for its typical cuisine, namely the famous specialties of the region: from Francesinha, to Tripas à Moda do Porto and Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá, the city of Porto also has historical monuments, centenary bridges, parks, and the magnificent Douro River, as well as several cultural spaces of reference such as Casa da Música, Livraria Lello and the unmissable Serralves Museum.
Serralves
The importance of Serralves for Porto and for the country is undeniable and proof of this is the growth in terms of visitors over the years. With a varied cultural offer, Serralves manages to attract more and more people to its spaces, promoting a diverse range of activities that cover all age groups.
Serralves Foundation’s include the Park (18 hectares), the Serralves House, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Library and the Auditorium. This heritage was considered a “National Monument” in 2012.
The Serralves House is kept with a period decoration, dating back to the 1930s. It is considered a unique example of Art Deco architecture; There are works of sculpture from the Serralves Foundation Collection permanently exhibited throughout the Park (so, walking through the Park is also like visiting a museum or gallery).
In 2019, and to mark its 30th anniversary, the Treetop Walk, the canopy-level walkway, was inaugurated.
São João Festival
The popular festival of São João represents part of Porto’s identity and has become the longest night in Invicta, being even one of the biggest events in the national festival calendar.
It occurs on the passage from the 23rd to the 24th of June and charms the people of Porto, the Portuguese and more and more tourists. This festivity is now a symbol of the city and brings together a series of interesting traditions and curiosities.
Over the years, São João Day has integrated different traditions, the most famous one being the plastic hammers that appeared as a “substitution” for the also used leek and are used to hit people on the head. The hammers are very colourful and make a loud noise when you hit them, besides many of them have a whistle at the end. In other words, celebrating is also synonymous with making noise.
Any information concerning accommodation please contact the conference organization.