The strategy for Óbidos' bid to become the Portuguese Capital of Culture 2028 was detailed by Ricardo Duque, the Municipality's Councillor for Culture, during the FÓLIO – Óbidos International Literary Festival. The meeting, themed “Óbidos 2028: Reading the Territory. Writing the Future”, brought together residents, association representatives, and cultural agents to gather essential contributions for the bid.
The primary goal of the bid is to promote the municipality, enhance its identity, and leave a lasting legacy. Five fundamental questions were addressed: how to ensure universal access to culture, what innovative cultural projects to create for 2028, how to value the identity of the parishes and involve the community, how to promote Óbidos internationally, and what transformation to leave for future generations. This participatory process yielded 28 proposals covering new cultural policies, spaces, heritage, programming, and community involvement.
Ricardo Duque highlighted that this process represents a unique opportunity to think about the municipality's cultural future in a participatory way, aligning territorial identity with new ambitions. The bid, to be submitted on December 3rd, aims to consolidate a cultural policy with lasting effects, extending beyond a single year of programming to positively impact people's lives, parish dynamics, and Óbidos' external projection.
The planned programming for 2028 may include a poetry festival, a children's and youth event, an illustration biennale, and an event dedicated to contemporary art. These initiatives aim to broaden audiences, create opportunities for artists, and strengthen the presence of culture throughout the territory. The bid is structured around seven axes: read, write, narrate, imagine, inhabit, share, and remain, reflecting a comprehensive vision of culture as an instrument for participation, territorial cohesion, and development.
The councillor emphasized the importance of programming made “with everyone in mind,” advocating for the creation of a legacy and the continuity of the municipality's public cultural policy through a participatory process. Ricardo Duque also highlighted the municipal investment in culture, representing approximately 17% of the budget, viewing it as a strategic investment that can transform the territory, developed over the last two decades. Literature plays a unifying role, connecting education, artistic creation, identity, and internationalization, affirming the capacity of smaller territories to produce culture and generate opportunities.
The bid for Óbidos to become the Portuguese Capital of Culture 2028 thus seeks to assert a structured, participatory, and future-oriented cultural policy capable of valuing the municipality's material and immaterial heritage, enhancing access to culture, and consolidating Óbidos' position on the national and international cultural scene. The winning city will receive one million euros.
