Opening ceremony - "IAMCR are us"

The opening ceremony gathered more than 600 participants at Theatro Circo. The president of IAMCR, Annabelle Sreberny, said that the “IAMCR are us”; "the organization needs all its members, with their imagination and creativity", she added.
António Cunha, Rector of the University of Minho, welcomed the participants to the city and to UM.
Manuel Pinto, Director of the Communication and Society Research Centre (CECS), highlighted the fact that the conference is taking place in a small town and that this peculiarity should be seen as an opportunity.
The keynote speaker, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations and former portuguese president,Jorge Sampaio,focused on the importance of enhancing global media literacy - with the aide of new ways to share information, like You Tube, Facebook or Twitter - in order to uphold both a universal respect for human rights and an attachment to democracy.

Inês Espojeira and Sofia Gomes

Some photos of the ceremony (please click on the arrow to see the whole slideshow)