The 50th anniversary of the University of Minho (UM) will be commemorated during the 39th anniversary of the elevation of Vila Nova de Famalicão to the category of city, scheduled for 9 July, with the traditional solemn session to award municipal prizes.
The university, created in 1973 and whose Installation Commission took office in February 1974, is the name proposed by the municipal executive to receive the City Medal of Honour, the highest municipal award.
The ceremony is scheduled for 9 July, at 6.15pm, at the Casa das Artes in Vila Nova de Famalicão, with free admission.
The Mayor, Mário Passos, praises "the essential role of the University of Minho in the development of the municipality" and the "close relationship of co-operation" it has maintained since its inception with the municipality and the various entities in the area. "It is a fundamental institution in the region, an important national reference and a recognised partner on the European and global scene," he adds.
The list of honorees will be analysed this Thursday, June 27, at the municipal executive meeting. It is made up of 12 individuals and 8 institutions from Famalicense who have stood out and are still standing out in the most diverse areas of action in the community, but also the nearly 40 presidents of Parish Councils who have not yet been honoured with the Municipal Awards and who carried out their civic mission during the 1977-1979 mandate, which began following the 1976 municipal elections, the first under the democratic regime.
The mayor of Famalicense believes that "it is of the utmost importance to pay a well-deserved tribute to the men and women who have served the local communities of our territory. Men and women who were true pioneers of democratic local government" and who will now be honoured with the Municipal Merit Medal.
The municipality will also honour the editor of Edições Humus, Rui Fernão de Magalhães, the bookseller Rui José Carvalho de Faria Araújo, the Portuguese guitar player, author and composer Carlos Macedo and the Greek composer based in Famalicão Dimitris Andrikopoulos with the Municipal Cultural Merit Medal.
Receiving the Municipal Sports Merit Medal are rally and off-road navigator Filipe Martins, Figueiredo's Runner's and Friends Association athlete Joaquim Figueiredo and referee João Pinheiro, recently elected Best Referee in the Portuguese Football League for the 2023/2024 season. João Cerejeira, professor and researcher in the field of economics, receives the Municipal Medal of Merit for Science.
Famalicense fashion designer Gonçalo Peixoto, Ana Patrícia Correia, who in 2023 received the "Chef Pâtissier" award from the International Academy of Gastronomy, the centenary "Elétrica", businessman and consultant Joaquim Rui de Castro Manita and the companies Xavier's, Macedo & Macedo and Ribeiro & Antunes, which this year celebrate their 50th anniversary, will receive the Municipal Economic Medal of Merit.
Finally, the Carlos de Sousa Municipal Merit Medal will be awarded to Casa da Memória Viva, ACIP - Ave Cooperativa Intervenção Psico-Social (25 years), ACB - Associação Cultural Beneficente e Desportiva dos Trabalhadores do Município (25 years) and Centro Social e Paroquial de Avidos (25 years).
Regarding the city's 39th anniversary, Mário Passos says, "Famalicão continues to follow a path of development and prosperity".
"We have many good reasons to celebrate our city, our territory and the people of Famalicão who contribute daily to making Famalicão one of the largest municipalities in the country," he added.