II International Meeting on Environmental Education highlights the intersection between Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability

The Landscape Laboratory is organising the 2nd International Meeting on Environmental Education. Under the theme ‘(Re)Environmental Education? The challenge of emerging intelligent technologies’, the event will take place on 27, 28 February and 1 March at the Laboratório da Paisagem facilities in Guimarães, bringing together the academic community, teachers, students and researchers.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming various sectors of society, including education and environmental management. In the current context of climate change and environmental degradation, AI offers new opportunities to improve sustainable education, making it more effective, accessible and personalised. In this sense, the international meeting aims to explore the intersections between AI and environmental education, debating how emerging technologies can be used to promote sustainability and environmental awareness.

The event will bring together AI experts, environmentalists, educators, researchers and students to share knowledge, experiences and good practices. Through talks and interactive sessions, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the latest innovations in AI applied to environmental education, discuss ethical and practical challenges and learn about projects that aim to make the future more sustainable. Internationally renowned speakers include Francisco Chinesta (University Institute of Paris), João Porto de Albuquerque (University of Glasgow) and Vítor Carvalho (IPCA and European Commission for AI and Data in Education).

Emerging technologies and environmental sustainability in communities
The event programme begins on 27 February with the opening session at 9.30am, which will feature speeches by Domingos Bragança, Mayor of Guimarães and Adelina Pinto, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Landscape Laboratory.

At 10am, the first keynote speech will be given by Francisco Chinesta, president of the French Association of Computational Mechanics and a researcher and lecturer at the University Institute of Paris and the Royal Spanish Academy of Engineering. At 11.30am, João Porto de Albuquerque, professor of Urban Analysis at the University of Glasgow and deputy director of the Urban Big Data Centre, will address the topic of ‘Urban Sustainability and Participation’.

In the afternoon, the event will resume at 2.30pm with a talk by Rui Correia, winner of the Global Teacher Prize Portugal 2019. Frederico Lopes, professor at the Faculty of Human Motricity and co-author of the book ‘Brincar em Todo Lado’ (Playing Everywhere), will close the first day’s series of conferences at 16.30, followed by a guided tour of the Landscape Laboratory at 18.00. The day culminates with a dinner meeting at 20.00.

Smart technologies in the environmental education of 21st century students
On 28 February, the programme kicks off at 9.30am with a round table on pedagogical innovation, with the participation of Luís Dourado, Dalila Alves Durães and Rui Lima, teachers and researchers from the University of Minho. This will be followed at 12 noon by another round table on the role of young influencers and students in promoting education for sustainability, with Ana Milhazes, Mariana Gomes, Dinis Rocha, an influencer known as the mini-biologist, and Alexandra Sepúlveda.

At 2.30pm, Vítor Carvalho, director of IPCA’s School of Technology and member of the European Commission’s expert group on AI, will discuss ethics in Artificial Intelligence in the educational context. The day ends with the round table ‘Road to European Green Capital 2026’, which will discuss the intersections between environmental education and technological innovation for the green transition, with the participation of representatives from cities that have won the Green Leaf and European Green Capital awards.

On 1 March, the event culminates with an interpretive visit to the Guimarães Wetlands, from 9.30am to 1pm, providing an immersive experience in the region’s natural heritage.

The 2nd International Environmental Education Meeting is part of Guimarães’ vision as a leading city in the green transition, reinforcing its role as European Green Capital 2026. Over three days, the programme includes lectures, round tables, tool shows and technological pitches, presentations of scientific papers, oral communications, including twinned cities, and posters. There will also be a visit to the cultural heritage and a demonstration of good environmental practices in the city of Guimarães.

The event is subject to prior registration. More information about the 2nd International Meeting on Environmental Education here.