The President of the Municipality of Fundão, Paulo Fernandes, accepted the challenge of the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra to be the "Ambassador" of the project in the Centro region.

In the Atlantic Social Lab project each partner invites a personality from their region to be an "Ambassador". The objective is to increase the visibility to the project's topic, "social innovation", mobilizing an individuality of the region, with high sensitivity to societal challenges and a solid knowledge and relevant public intervention, in disseminating the objectives and results of the project.

Paulo Fernandes holds a degree in International Relations from the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP) at the Technical University of Lisbon. Adding to his experience as politician and his responsibility as President of the Fundão Municipality, he is currently the coordinator of the Platform for Territorial Innovation of the RIS3 Centro - Strategy for Research and Innovation for a Smart Specialisation.

Fundão has revealed an interesting socio-economic dynamics and it was even distinguished in 2018 with the European Prize for Territorial Innovation RegioStars. The Fundão Business Centre won in the category of 'supporting a smart industrial tradition'. In only four years this municipality attracted 14 technological firms, some multinationals, generating more than 500 qualified jobs and converting about 240 unemployed into IT programmers.

The Atlantic Social Lab project, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG Atlantic Area Cooperation Program, under the reference EAPA_246 / 2016, led by the Municipality of Avilés (Spain) and in which CES-UC participates.

Coimbra, 14 january 2019.

Contact person: Hugo Pinto hpinto@ces.uc.pt