Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

I want to start by congratulating the winners of the Aga Khan Prize for Architecture, as well as the jury which distinguished such projects, so representative of the cultural values that we share.

I also want to warmly applaud Your Highness for this initiative. Due as much to its merit, as to the criteria that guide it, the Prize for Architecture is a forceful example of the Aga Khan’s Network commitment to human development in all its features.

The Aga Khan Prize for Architecture has promoted, since 1977, the cultural and artistic value of the architectural concept, and has already recognized more than 100 works in several countries and continents. Its pecuniary value is the highest in this field, but its essence is the prestige that the Prize confers on its winners. A prestige that includes not just the recognition of the aesthetical value of the rewarded projects, but also their contribution towards community development, sustainability, the awakening of historical memory and identity, the conservation and reuse of heritage and urban quality.

These are the criteria that cause the Aga Khan Prize to be a unique reference in the whole World. The Prize identifies and recognizes the effort and the talent of differing scales and geographies, and is thus a valuable incentive for the concept of works of excellence that contribute towards the improvement of the living conditions of the communities in which they are inserted, and that add value to identity and tradition, but also to innovation and creativity.

I am thus extremely pleased by taking part in the 12th award ceremony of the Aga Khan Prize for Architecture, in the midst of the magnificent scenery offered by the Castle of St. George. The Castle from which we view Lisbon’s urban sprawl and the Tagus estuary and which is, in itself, the live witness of the dynamics of a society filled with the pride of its roots, and is permanently open to the World and to multicultural dialogue.

It is an honour to welcome to Portugal the award ceremony of a prize with such exceptional merit. To start with, this means, allow me to say so, the recognition of Portugal’s capability to host prestigious initiatives, not just within a strictly tourist perspective, but also from the point of view of the organization of internationally relevant events.

This ceremony emphasizes extraordinarily the work that is being carried out in Portugal by the Aga Khan Network for Development. We acknowledge and laud the mission that the Aga Khan Foundation has assumed in several parts of the World, to encourage and support the preservation of heritage, and the enormous task it has undertaken to revitalize social, economic and cultural values.

I equally applaud the initiatives carried out on the occasion of the Prize award, amongst which stands out the Seminar that will be held tomorrow bringing together the most notable Portuguese and foreign figures in the field of Architecture. This will be a privileged timing to debate the contemporary concerns in the construction and preservation of a common universal heritage, which will become a legacy for future generations.

Portugal has a unique architectural panorama which, in rapport with its natural landscapes, has severally been recognized as Human Heritage. Portugal has invested in the recovery and refurbishment of its heritage, searching for novel features of sustainability and functionality. In parallel, it has evidenced its capability of creating a contemporary relevant architectural language.

The quality and skills of Portuguese architects, some of whom have been awarded prestigious prizes, has become internationally renowned. Their work represents not just an important contribution towards the daily living of our society, but also as a means of the external promotion and assertion of Portuguese cultural heritage.

I would like to end by renewing my congratulations to the prize winners and, in Your Highnesses’ name, to the Aga Khan Network, in the belief that this Prize, in addition to praising the already developed work, will also be an inestimable incentive towards the qualification of the existing built heritage and also towards the improvement in the quality of life of thousands of human beings.

Thank you very much.