The official launch of the trilogy "New Citizenship Studies", the name given to the trilogy launched by the Publisher Petrony, and endorsed by the UNESCO International Network "The City that Educates and Transforms", took place on October 10, in room 1 of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The launching ceremony was attended by the Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair, Professor Isabel Baltazar, the Executive Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins, who presented Volume I - Us and the Others, the Europeans: United in Diversity, Professor Manuel Porto, who presented Volume II - Citizenship - Law, Political Science and International Relations, and Professor António Névoa, who closed the session with the presentation of the last volume - The School as a Foundation - The European Dimension of Education.

Professor Isabel Baltazar shared with those present the challenges and problems she encountered while writing the trilogy, emphasizing the value and power of the school as the foundation of democracy and European citizenship, since "young people are the future of Europe". She also highlighted the importance of the presence of the Padre António Vieira Secondary School as a member of the "European Parliament Ambassador Schools" program. In a second moment, the professor quoted the President of ISEC Lisboa, Cristina Ventura, who, although absent, had made a point of leaving a brief thank-you note for the project that the Chair has promoted and for ISEC Lisboa, as a leading member of the network: "The work "We and the Others, the Europeans: A Europe United in Diversity" seen in the light of the objectives of UNESCO's Unitwin Network "City that Educates and Transforms", not only aligns with, but also enriches the ethos of educational territories by exploring the themes of diversity, inclusion and building a cohesive and democratic European identity."

"Free, responsible and tolerant citizenship" is the message that Professor Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins conveys with the presentation of the first volume. It is the main message that the book carries - the perpetuation of peace and unity between peoples. The professor also points out: "Becoming aware of the risk of the 'trivialization of evil', referred to by Hannah Arendt, is fundamentally important if we are to understand democracy as a system of values based on the recognition of human imperfection and the need to seek paths towards personal improvement and an understanding of illusions and mistakes."

Volume II - Citizenship - Law, Political Science and International Relations, presented by Professor Manuel Porto, focuses on widening opportunities for the exercise of citizenship and the challenges of democracy, requiring the active participation of citizens.

The third and final volume, presented by Professor António Névoa, highlights the importance of the school as a foundation for building values and European citizenship. This volume seeks to explore the role of the school in society and its transformation over the years and its role in building European ideas.

Quoting the professor's preface to the book:

"The debate on the European dimension of education is important, especially if it is capable of thinking about education beyond borders and inscribing citizenship in peace with the Earth ("common home") and in peace with Others ("shared humanity"). It is in this sense that the UNESCO report defends education as a public project and a global common good. The pandemic has unlocked the future and widened the range of possibilities. Now we know that the impossible can happen. What will we do with this knowledge? The future is open, perhaps more than ever. Nobody knows for sure, but we need the courage to share our doubts, reflections and experiences, as this book does. Education needs to be rethought. Together. Freely. Without limits."

Among those present were some of the authors who contributed to the trilogy, namely Luís Cardoso from Instituto de Portalegre, Ana Patrícia Almeida from Universidade Aberta, Fátima Pacheco from Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto, and Mário Barata from Instituto Politécnico de Leiria. Also representing ISEC Lisboa were the Vice-President, Tânia Carraquico, and Marina Reis and Ana Paula Oliveira, professors at ISEC Lisboa.

Dr. Katalin Gonczy, representative of the European Parliament's Office in Portugal, also attended the launch, stressing the importance of tackling issues such as European citizenship.

The school belongs to each and everyone of us, and it's up to each of us to make the best of it and take advantage of the source of knowledge it has to offer.