„Overcoming the wounds of the colonial era does not mean closing them up or soothing them, but rather bringing to light the global interconnections in which formerly colonised societies remain entangled to this day.” (Dr. Ibou Diop)
On 24 and 25 April 2026, the Coalition for Pluralistic Public Discourse (CPPD) held its second festival of the year at the Biblioteca de Alcântara – José Dias Coelho in Lisbon. Under the title ‘After the Carnations – Cycles of Decolonisation and Democratic Futures’, the first day brought together a variety of formats: a panel discussion, artistic performances and the opening of the Dynamic Memory Lab ‘Cycles of Decolonisation’. The second day of the festival focused on a workshop exploring the implications of the Carnation Revolution and practices of public remembrance, as well as a visit to the central commemorative march.
Paneldiscussion “After the Carnations – Cycles of Decolonisation and Democratic Futures”
The event kicked off with the panel discussion “After the Carnations – Cycles of Decolonisation and Democratic Futures”. Moderated by Dr Cátia Severino, Dr Iolanda Évora and Dr Ibou Diop brought together perspectives on Portuguese and German remembrance culture in a discussion conducted in Portuguese and German with simultaneous interpretation, relating them to a European debate on how to deal with the colonial legacy, and what it means when memory is no longer shaped solely by institutions, but by communities, artistic practices and civil society engagement.
In his presentation, Ibou Diop introduced Berlin’s remembrance concept, “Remembering Colonialism”. The Berlin concept highlights colonial history as a structurally defining component of German and European history, closely linked to genocide and leaving deep traces in the history of mentalities that remain visible to this day: in street names, in museum collections, and in school curricula. Inspired by Édouard Glissant and Achille Mbembe, the concept advocates for transversality, for making visible the interconnections, cross-references and resonances between different experiences of violence, including their link to the history of National Socialism, whose misanthropic traditions of thought had their precursors in colonialism. Remembrance is understood here as a practice, as a process of listening, of entering into relationships and of enduring contradictions, rather than as a completed act.
In her presentation, Iolanda Évora provided an introduction to the Portuguese context and demonstrated how the negotiation of citizenship and political participation in Portugal remains, to this day, shaped by the mythology of a ‘gentle and benevolent’ colonisation. A mythology that overlooks both the African struggles for independence and the contributions of people of African descent to contemporary Portuguese society. Using concrete examples, from the absence of a slavery memorial in Lisbon to the controversial “Portugal dos Pequenitos” park in the Portuguese city of Coimbra, she illustrated how institutional memory politics actively resists new interpretations. At the same time, she highlighted the growing counter-movement of Afro-descendant activists who use the word as a form of public intervention.
„A negação, a romantização e o esforço em perpetuar os símbolos e as práticas de memória deparam-se com narrativas e criações que não são simples contra-relatos, pois constituem-se nas margens, mas no coração da situação.”
(„Denial, romanticisation and attempts to preserve symbols and practices of remembrance come up against narratives and creations that are not merely counter-narratives – they emerge on the fringes, yet at the very heart of the situation.“)
The discussion ultimately centred on a key tension: symbolic recognition alone is not enough if it is not accompanied by a real redistribution of voice and power. Both speakers made it clear that a more democratically inclusive future requires concrete changes – in education, in the public sphere, and in terms of who defines a society’s shared symbols and narratives.
Dynamic Memory Lab »Cycles of Decolonisation«
The first day of the festival concluded with the opening of the Dynamic Memory Lab »Cycles of Decolonisation«, curated by Dr Cátia Severino and André Soares.
The DML is the CPPD’s central exhibition format: it operates on a site-specific basis, responds to local needs for remembrance, and sees itself as a process-oriented format – in contrast to self-contained exhibition narratives.
The Dynamic Memory Lab »Cycles of Decolonisation« invites visitors to engage with the legacy of European colonialism and its contemporary manifestations. The exhibition places particular emphasis on the structures of dehumanisation that remain effective to this day. It seeks to break down the invisibility associated with dehumanisation and places the human aspect at the centre of our attention. Using the example of delivery drivers, it shows us the contemporary manifestations in which the legacy of European colonialism persists to this day. »Cycles of Decolonisation« illustrates how contemporary economic systems can replicate colonial dynamics, even without the direct violence and territorial occupation associated with historical colonisation.
Artistic performances
The opening programme featured a rich array of artistic performances. A choir performed key political songs by artists including José Afonso, José Mário Branco and Adriano Correia de Oliveira, all of whom are closely associated with the Portuguese dictatorship and the Carnation Revolution.
In the staged, performative reading of “Caderno de Memórias Coloniais” (“The Notebook of Colonial Memories”) by the Coletivo de Teatro da Biblioteca de Alcântara – José Dias Coelho, excerpts from the work of Isabela Figueiredo were performed, offering an open and unflinching view of the realities of late Portuguese colonialism and colonial violence in Mozambique, as well as the political climate surrounding the “repatriation” of hundreds of thousands of people, primarily from Angola and Mozambique, to Portugal. The reading combined personal memory with political history and shed light on the ambivalences of colonial power relations. The contributions brought history to life in a powerful way and created a collective space of remembrance and resistance. In her live performance “RIBBONS” in the garden of the Biblioteca, the artist Renee van Bavel sewed together collected commemorative ribbons from international sites of remembrance to form a continuous, collective work of art. The work connects different stories, perspectives and forms of remembrance into a shared, transnational narrative. As an open and evolving practice, RIBBONS invites reflection on memory, the present and the possibilities of solidarity and peace.
The opening event attracted a great deal of interest, with over 100 visitors in attendance. Following stops in Berlin and Madrid, the DML’s »Cycles of Decolonisation« exhibition will be on display at the Biblioteca de Alcântara – José Dias Coelho until September 2026.
Workshop & Guided Tour
The second day of the festival began with the workshop “The Missing D – From Utopia to Denial”, led by Dr Cátia Severino and André Soares, and culminated in a joint visit to the central commemorative march through Lisbon.
The workshop took as its starting point the question of the “missing D”. The Carnation Revolution, which in 1974 heralded the end of the fascist dictatorship of the “Estado Novo”, was programmatically focused on three goals: democratisation, development, decolonisation (Democratizar, Desenvolver, Descolonizar). Whilst political democratisation was achieved, the third D remained unfulfilled. Decolonisation was treated primarily as a military-political process, but not as a transformation of memory and social structures. This gap continues to shape Portuguese memory culture to this day: the public narrative remained focused for a long time on the retornados, the returning colonists, whilst colonial violence remained largely invisible in school curricula and public spaces. The workshop also demonstrated how colonial structures persist in the present day, for instance in the concept of racial capitalism, where exploitation changes form but does not disappear, thereby also highlighting the central themes of the DML exhibition »Cycles of Decolonisation«.
The ensuing discussions and the visit to the commemorative march vividly highlighted what makes 25 April unique in a European context: the march as a living, embodied practice of remembrance, as a continuation of the revolution through collective presence in public space. It is both a society-wide event and a space for negotiation: Different groups claim the day in their own ways and bring competing narratives about what the revolution was and what it continues to demand to this day. This plurality is not understood as a threat to remembrance, but as its living expression, a model that differs significantly from more institutionalised or polarised forms of commemoration in other European contexts.
