2nd International Conference on Resilience and Sustainable Regions

2-4 July 2025

Setúbal, Portugal

The International Conference on Resilience and Sustainable Regions is an international conference organized by Polytechnic University of Setúbal (IPS) with the participation of several international and national institutions. Institutions from Portugal, as well from E³UDRES² Alliance, Businet and International Business Week Network, joined efforts to reflect, discuss, and share advances and trends on different scientific areas that contribute to the resilience and sustainability of the regions.

The conference focuses on exploring and reinforcing the relationship between management and the different areas of technology and engineering to stimulate the development and sustainability of the regions.

With a multidisciplinary approach it is expected that this conference will be attend by participants from more than 15 countries and attracts an interesting public combining academic scholars, practitioners and individuals who are engaged in the topics of:

Keynotes

Climate Modelling and AI for a Resilient Earth in the Context of Climate Change

Speaker: Pedro Matos Soares

2/7/2025 @ 10:30

Hannes Raffaseder Portrait

Pedro Matos Soares is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geographical Engineering, Geophysics and Energy and Principal Researcher at the Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), both at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. His PhD in Physics focused on turbulence and clouds in atmospheric models.

Over the last 3 decades he has focused his research efforts on climate modeling, climate change, and energy and sustainability, leading from 2018 to 2022, the IDL research group on Climate change, atmosphere-land-ocean processes and extremes.

He was an active member in 13 international (PI of 1) and 13 national (PI of 5) projects and coordinates the Portuguese CORDEX team endorsed by WRCP. He was the scientific coordinator of the EEA grants project “National Roadmap for Adaptation 2100 – Assessment of the vulnerability of the Portuguese territory to climate change in the 21st century (RNA 2100)”, and led the “Regional Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Alentejo” and the “Municipal Climate Action Plan of Barcelos”.

Recently, he was appointed to the Portuguese Council for Climate Action, and is a member of the Scientific Committee of the PhD Program in Climate Change and Sustainable Development Policies and of the Scientific Commitee of the Portuguese Council for Health and Environment. In the context of climate change and its impacts, it has strong collaboration with institutions such as the Lisbon City Council (Lisbon-Enova), the Health authorities, the Portuguese Environment Agency, E-REDES, CCDRs, and many others.

He has published more than 130 scientific articles in refereed international journals and carried out hundreds of international communications and outreach presentations; and, is a science communicator with a constant presence in the media. In 2020 he received the University of Lisbon/Caixa Geral Depósitos award for scientific production in the last 5 years in Earth Sciences, and in 2022 the Prize from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon in Earth Sciences.

Resilience as Relationship: Rethinking Sustainability in Times of Systemic Change

2/7/2025 @ 11:45

In an era shaped by overlapping crises (ecological, geopolitical, economic, and emotional) resilience has become a guiding term in policy and sustainability discourse. Yet mainstream interpretations often reduce resilience to coping or bouncing back, overlooking its deeper relational, ethical, and systemic dimensions. This keynote explores resilience not as a fixed trait or outcome, but as a relational capacity: the ability to sustain care, connection, and creativity under pressure. Drawing on research from the SHARED GREEN DEAL project and practice-based insights from The CareLab, the talk reimagines resilience as a transformative force rooted in learning, mutuality, and systemic alignment. Framing resilience through a relational lens opens space to enrich the implementation of the Green Deal—connecting inner and outer change, grounding policy in lived realities, and cultivating regenerative potential in both people and systems.

Speaker: Antje Disterheft

Antje Disterheft Portrait

Antje Disterheft is a researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences (ICS), University of Lisbon, where she works on the Horizon Europe project SHARED GREEN DEAL. She contributes to the analysis of transdisciplinary social experiments across six Green Deal priority areas and to the development of training resources on behavioural, cultural, and social change.

She is part of the SHIFT – Environment, Territory and Society research group and a member of the editorial team of the group’s blog (Ambiente, Território e Sociedade).

Her research explores relational and transdisciplinary approaches to sustainability, with a focus on the interplay between inner and outer dimensions of transformation. Her work spans fields such as sustainability transitions, transformative learning, ecological economics, and governance.

Antje teaches at bachelor, master, and PhD levels, and is also an invited professor at Universidade Aberta. Her pedagogical approach is rooted in mutual learning, co-creation, and embodied educational practices. She frequently experiments with participatory and reflective tools to support deeper engagement with sustainability challenges.

She is a co-founding member of the Portuguese network Rede Campus Sustentável, where she serves on the Executive Commission and contributes to working groups, annual events, and the network’s newsletter. Before joining ICS, she was a postdoctoral researcher at CENSE – NOVA University Lisbon, where she founded The CareLab for People and Planet, a practice-based initiative on care, sustainability, and systemic change.

Antje holds a PhD in Social Sustainability, an MSc in Environmental Citizenship and Participation, and a BA in Social Work.

Fields of activity: Transformative Sustainability, Sustainability Transitions, Education (learning for sustainability), Governance
Keywords: Sustainability transitions, Transformative learning, Relational sustainability, Transdisciplinary research, Care and wellbeing

Special Sessions

Collaborative Innovation and Digital Co-creation for Sustainable Tourism Futures

2/7/2025 @ 13:30

The transformation of the tourism industry in the face of climate change, digitalization, and shifting societal values requires new paradigms of governance, strategic thinking, and stakeholder coordination. At the core of these challenges lies the imperative for more effective and forward‐looking tourism management. This special session, anchored in the SHIFT research project (Sustainability-oriented, Highly interactive, and Innovation-based Framework for Tourism Marketing), highlights how management practices can integrate collaboration, technology, and co‐creation to foster sustainable and resilient tourism ecosystems.

Tourism management must evolve from traditional models towards approaches that embrace systemic complexity, participatory governance, and cross-sector innovation. The papers included in this session address precisely this need by examining the design and implementation of collaborative marketing strategies, stakeholder engagement through co‐creation platforms, and scenario planning as a strategic management tool. In doing so, they provide critical insights into how destination management organizations, policy makers, and tourism enterprises can anticipate global trends and co‐develop inclusive and adaptive responses.

In a context marked by environmental, technological, and social transitions, this session—composed of five presentations (the first introducing the project and the remaining four presenting its core results)—is highly relevant for scholars and practitioners seeking to reimagine tourism management as a discipline that not only responds to change but actively shapes sustainable futures through innovation, interactivity, and stakeholder synergy.

You can find more details about the special session by following this link.

Value Creation in the Socio-Bioeconomy in the Amazon Region: Integrating Tradition, Innovation and Environmental Services

This session aims to provide experiences and knowledge exchange on value creation for businesses of traditional peoples and communities (TPCs), usually cooperatives, through the sustainable exploration of the socio-bioeconomy in the Amazon region. TPCs are keepers of traditional knowledge and practices and should be valued not only as guardians of the forest but also as disseminators of knowledge that can help mitigate climate change and environmental destruction. In this context, we propose to discuss factors that not only add value to their community businesses but also ensure that this value remains within the territory. To achieve this, we will address three key issues:

  • Alliances for innovation
  • Payment for environmental services
  • Sustainable productive chains

You can find more details about the special session by following this link.