The municipal executive of Covilhã unanimously approved, in a private meeting on the 4th, the Municipal Plan for Cultural Development 2026/2030, which defines the main guidelines for the municipality's cultural policy for the next four years. Several opposition councilors, such as Miguel Rebelo from the Independent Movement for People and Eduardo Cavaco from the CDS/IL coalition, welcomed the approval of the document, considering it fundamental and strategic to define a clear path for culture in the city.
The president of the municipality, Hélio Fazendeiro, however considered it unfair to say that Covilhã only now has a path for culture. The mayor recalled that political decision-makers and cultural agents have been working on the promotion and cultural production for decades, and defended that the new plan represents the continuation of this path.
The plan follows the previous Development Program that was the basis for Covilhã's recognition as a UNESCO Creative City in 2021. Hélio Fazendeiro added that in addition to the projects already planned until 2030, the municipality is preparing with the University of Beira Interior and other cultural agents a plan with a horizon until 2040, with the objective of consolidating Covilhã as a center of culture in the region, in the Interior of the country and with Iberian expression.
According to the president, the plan will continue to value heritage, traditions and knowledge, but will also reinforce cultural production, the arrival of new agents and the promotion of new artistic areas.
