At the Coimbra Oeste School Group, the 23rd and 24th were entirely dedicated to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the revolution of April 25, 1974.
In all AECO educational establishments, from pre-school to secondary school, involving the respective school and educational communities, dozens of activities were developed, in which children and students were the protagonists: thinking, planning, elaborating and materializing the your projects. These were developed around two axes: the “Liberty Rooms” in which each group/class conceived and implemented their project, opening the doors of their respective room to visits from the educational community, and the “Party Activities”, collective activities of a celebratory, festive and sharing nature, proposed in each establishment, by sectors and/or projects of the Group, by partner entities and by the students themselves.
Among the multiple and varied activities developed, on the 23rd, students from the 12th D class promoted, at Escola Secundária D. Duarte, the “Fórum da Liberdade”, which included the participation of Teresa Portugal, deputy Martim Syder, by the historian Miguel Cardina, by the engineer Vasco Paiva, by Fernando Santa and Mário Santos, former combatants who were members of the Association of the Disabled of the Armed Forces.
Their multifaceted testimonies were quite impressive and enriching, raising several questions from the students present that helped not only to better understand some aspects of life under the dictatorship, but also to value and defend Freedom and Democracy as values that, having conquered on April 25th, it is necessary to continue to defend them, practicing them on a daily basis, and always.
On the same day, a sustainable “Mural” of the 25th of April was inaugurated, a triptych created and painted by students from Escolas Básicas 2/3 Inês de Castro, nº 2 de Taveiro and Escola Secundária D. Duarte. On this occasion, students from the Professional Art Course perform some ensemble dances, including “Come on, five more”, by José Afonso, and “Liberdade”, by Sérgio Godinho.
The Student Association of Escola Secundária D. Duarte organized a conversation with Alberto Martins, the former leader of the AAC who on April 17, 1969, dared, in front of regime figures, to ask for the floor, to speak on behalf of the students, triggering the student protest that spread throughout the Academy and the city, shaking the foundations of the dictatorship.
Alberto Martins, in addition to sharing with the students his testimony about the events of the 1969 academic crisis, answered the questions presented by reflecting, with the students, on the relevance of Abril’s ideas and values today, especially in what he says respect for the active participation of young people in society and politics.
