"My journey is deeply connected to Portugal. My roots are Portuguese. It is also connected to scale, to the wider world. I looked at the Portuguese diaspora. Because how many of us are there? In reality, no one knows for sure. But what I do know is that many of them do not know Portugal. If they knew Portugal, what could the country do to tap into this world out there?

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I decided to create the Foundation to develop ties between the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the diaspora and Portugal. We need to show what Portugal is, show what the interior is, what the cities are, what we have and what we have developed. We have the ability to attract talent, and we have the ability to help develop and sell our products or services around the world.

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There are already thousands of descendants studying in Portugal, but who do not know the country. We want to bring knowledge to those who study in Portugal through courses at various national universities. Each of these courses will look at regional peculiarities, getting to know companies that are based in different parts of the country and at the same time integrating programs so that students can better understand the national political system or the Assembly of the Republic."

"The ability to attract talent, but also visitors who can learn from the example of the António Pargana Foundation, shows that when we feel emotionally connected to a region, we are also drawn to it. But the region also needs to be able to attract.

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If we can reach the generations that are Portuguese—through family ties, their parents, their grandparents—and explain to them what it’s like to live in Portugal now, knowing the emotional connection they already have with the country, the potential for them to come here becomes obvious when we showcase this region."

"For the University of Évora, retaining talent means attracting and keeping it. Attracting is difficult; keeping it is much more difficult. Because to keep talent, we need to provide conditions. And when we talk about talent, we are obviously referring to the various levels at which our actions are carried out. In fact, this is the challenge that I believe all institutions based in Alentejo are increasingly facing today.

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The collaboration between the business world and higher education institutions is absolutely essential. Not just seeking knowledge transfer, but also fostering collaboration and connection between companies and universities."

"Attracting talent is both an opportunity for the António Pargana Foundation and for universities.

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No company can grow if the people within the company do not grow. We need to involve academia in the identification and management of talent. The role of the António Pargana Foundation is fundamental here."

"It is essential to significantly strengthen the economic diplomacy agenda. The way to help companies access external markets is by organizing many international missions and then achieving the mirror mission, which is bringing investors to Portugal. Only on that day, when we present ourselves abroad and they come here to see who we are, will the partnership begin to take shape and the future start to be created. Therefore, the External agenda must be reinforced, and there should be campaigns to promote Portugal.

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It's a good thing that there are Portuguese people around the world who have proven that we can go very far and who are committed to giving back to society and to Portugal something that was given to them during their remarkable journey."