UNESCO Chair of ESCS-IPL presented at U!REKA Connects 2025

Professor Maria João Centeno, from the School of Communication and Media Studies (ESCS), of the Polytechnic University of Lisbon (IPL), presented the UNESCO Chair in Communication, Media and Information Literacy and Citizenship, on May 22 in Helsinki, during U!REKA Connects 2025. 

U!REKA Connects is an annual meeting where the entire U!REKA community, an alliance of 11 European universities of applied sciences and their partners (cities and municipalities, regional councils and non-profit organisations), comes together to exchange ideas and experiences and to expand opportunities for collaboration. 

This year, U!REKA Connects was held in the capital of Finland, and was organized by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, one of the network’s partners. 

Around 400 participants from all over Europe took part in workshops, presentations and discussions on pressing topics for the development of their work and the university alliance itself. 

In a parallel session on Social Responsibility, Maria João Centeno presented the paper “Fostering Media Literacy and Citizenship for Smart Cities: Collaborating for a Sustainable and Inclusive Future through UNESCO and U!REKA”, sharing the objectives and activities of the ESCS-IPL UNESCO Chair, and opening doors to the establishment of partnerships and the development of collaborative projects with other members of the U!REKA network.  

“It is through meeting spaces like this that the idea of ​​connection (Connects) becomes a reality and that we feel we can make a difference”, Maria João Centeno emphasizes. 

On May 21 and 22, the main areas of U!REKA were explored in depth, namely the role of universities in building sustainable and future-oriented urban environments, the creation of collaborative training programs, and the strengthening of European values in higher education institutions. 

IPL will organize the next U!REKA Connects edition, in June 2026 in Lisbon.