DOCUMENTARY SERIES "AS NOVAS VIAGENS PHILOSOPHICAS" ON RTP

On July 3, 2016, at 11h30, our national public channel – RTP1 – will air the first episode of a series of 13 documentaries, titled As Novas viagens philosophicas, which depicts the work that CIBIO-InBIO researchers are carrying out all over the world with the goal of unveiling what is yet to be known about biodiversity.

This series comes about as the exquisite outcome of 5 years of missions to 12 countries in 4 continents, from Mauritania to the Amazon, which resulted in hundreds of days of video recording. Two image reporters, a soundman and a journalist traveled the world guided by biologists working at CIBIO-InBIO, documenting unexpected and utterly enticing aspects of biodiversity and wildlife while illustrating the work and projects developed by these national researchers.

The spectator’s curiosity is immediately triggered by the title of the documentaries: “As Novas viagens philosophicas” – “The New philosophic journeys”. To fully grasp the underlying meaningfulness of this title, one is invited to go back to the VIII century and dwell into the unparalleled scientific endeavor put forth by the Portuguese Crown, who, inspired by the Enlightenment movement, promoted a set of journeys to our then colonies led by prominent naturalists to extensively study and survey their natural resources. Following the footsteps of these pioneer curious minds, taking advantage of the most state-of-the-art technological equipment and digital tools, now, in the XXI century, our current body of knowledge about biodiversity, biodiversity research and conservation is not only advanced but also decoded and made available to the general public, thanks to the efforts of the incredible team involved in this project.

This unique project, the first of its kind ever made in Portugal, stems from a partnership between RTP, CIBIO-InBIO and the University of Porto, and was made possible with the support of the National Agency for Scientific and Technological Culture - Ciência Viva, through the initiative Media Ciência, funded by the COMPETE programme. The collaboration protocol celebrated between these three entities was just signed last Monday, June 27, at Pavilhão do Conhecimento – Ciência Viva, in a ceremony which counted with the presence of Rosalia Vargas, Ciência Viva’s President, Nuno Ferrand de Almeida, CIBIO-InBIO’s Scientific Coordinator and the mentor of this project, Gonçalo Reis, RTP’s President, Fátima Marinho, Vice-Rector of the University of Porto in representation of Sebastião Feyo de Azevedo, Rector of the University of Porto, and the Secretary of State of Science, Techonology and Higher Education, Fernanda Rollo.

Now, starting next Sunday, everyone is invited to turn on their TV, tune in on RTP1, and (re)discover the world through these 13 stories.

In the first episode, we travel to Mauritania to meet the West African Crocodile populations.To know more about the upcoming episodes make sure to stay alert for RTP1’s programming grid.

For a sneak preview on the series, do not miss the trailer and the making of:

For more information about the project (in Portuguese), click here. Also, browse through our image gallery (on the left) to get the gist of the environments and atmosphere of the series.

As Novas viagens philosophicas are dedicated to Paulo Alexandrino, whose legacy will forever continue to inspire us, sparking our curiosity and enthusiasm about biodiversity and biodiversity research.