The Lisbon Consortium

— Thinking ahead

Category: Scolarships & Awards

  • Dzifa Peters wins “Thinking Photography” prize by Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and the German Photographic Society

    Dzifa Peters wins “Thinking Photography” prize by Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and the German Photographic Society

    We would like to congratulate Dzifa Peters for winning the Thinking Photography Award  by The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and the German Photographic Society (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie, DGPh). The Award Ceremony will take place on 14 November 2025 at Goethe-Institut Paris.

    Portraits of contemporary witnesses of the independence movement in Ghana are packed for archiving. Dzifa Peters in collaboration with Josef Zky, from the project “Being a guest” (2015-present), C-print, courtesy of the artists.

    Dzifa Peters is a visual artist, an alumna of the Lisbon Consortium and currently a research fellow in the Integrated Human Development Scholarship program at UCP, developing her research on photography, memory and Afro-diasporic identities in the post-migration context in Portugal. The award is granted for the dissertation “Tropes of Polarity: Visual Representation and Afrodiasporic Identities” (PhD in Culture Studies). In it, Peters explores how colonial, postcolonial and Afrodiasporic identities are represented and shaped by contemporary photography. She pays particular attention to the medium’s role in preserving memory, determining belonging and communicating different cultural perspectives and identities.

    The research award “Thinking Photography” is endowed with €3,000 and honours publications from the field of photographic theory and history that expand the topic area with important approaches from the humanities, cultural studies and social sciences.

    The jury explained its selection as follows: “With this inspiring study, Dzifa Peters presents an academically outstanding work that addresses a current issue. In it, she uses different photographic positions and art-based research to explore changes in cultural identity through photography, focusing specifically on the context of West Africa and its diaspora in Europe. In doing so, she not only makes an important contribution to photographic research, but also provides a linguistically accentuated, differentiated and extremely well-founded text. We were particularly impressed by the skillful inclusion of her own artistic practice.”

    More information: Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and German Photographic Society award prizes for academic writing on photography

    Congratulations, Dzifa!

    “It is a true honour to receive the “Thinking Photography” prize in recognition of my doctoral thesis, Tropes of Polarity: Visual Representation and Afrodiasporic Identities. I am deeply grateful to the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and the German Photographic Society (DGPh) for this recognition. My heartfelt thanks go to my supervisor, Professor Isabel Capeloa Gil, and my co-supervisor, Apl. Professor Dr. Michael Basseler, whose thoughtful guidance and unwavering intellectual support have shaped this research in profound ways. I am also thankful to the members of the examining committee for their generous engagement and invaluable feedback. Above all, I owe a great debt to the artists and scholars whose ideas and creative work have inspired and informed this project from the very beginning.

    The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation and the German Photographic Society (DGPh) will jointly present the “Thinking Photography” prize and the “Writing Photography” prize during an award ceremony on 14 November 2025 at the Goethe- Institut in Paris. On this occasion, I will have the pleasure of discussing my research in conversation with Lucia Halder, Curator and Head of the Photography Collection at the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in Cologne.” (Dzifa Peters)

  • Applications for Grant CADOS | Fundação Amélia de Mello are open – Master’s and PhD’s 2025/26

    Applications for Grant CADOS | Fundação Amélia de Mello are open – Master’s and PhD’s 2025/26

    The Católica Doctoral School (CADOS) informs that applications are open for 4 Research Scholarships for Master’s degree and 4 Research Scholarships for PhD’s, starting in the academic year 2025/26.

    The scholarships are awarded on an exclusive dedication basis.

    Application period: July 14th to September 4th, 2025 (until 5:00 PM, Lisbon time)

    Requirements:

    Master’s: completed undergraduate degree and registration (or possibility of registration) in the 1st year of a Master’s program at UCP.

    PhD’s: completed master’s degree and registration (or possibility of registration) in the 1st year of a Doctorate program at UCP.

    More information: https://cados.ucp.pt/news/applications-grant-cadosfundacao-amelia-de-mello-are-open-masters-and-phds-202526-11046?change-language=1

    For further questions, contact cados@ucp.pt 

  • Marta Alves Silva (MA) receives Honorary Mention of “Estudar a Dança” Award

    Marta Alves Silva (MA) receives Honorary Mention of “Estudar a Dança” Award

    We would like to congratulate Marta Alves Silva (MA in Culture Studies) who received the Honorary Mention of the Estudar a Dança Award with the dissertation Emotional contagion: the transformative potential of performance art.

    At the time of the ceremony, Marta Alves Silva was in an artistic residence and could not be present in person, but accepted the Honorary Mention via videoconference.

    The Estudar a Dança Award is an initiative of the National Museum of Theatre and Dance (MNTD) and Museus e Monumentos de Portugal. It celebrates the extraordinary collection of the MNTD and aims to reward academic work of exceptional quality that contributes to the knowledge of this art and stimulates the development of this less studied disciplinary area in our country. The prize is sponsored by the Millenium BCP Foundation, which is associated with the recognition and promotion of academic research in the performing arts, especially in the field of theatrical dance.

    The jury is composed of Nuno Costa Moura, José Carlos Alvarez, Luísa Taveira and Rui Vieira Nery. According to the jury, Silva’s work proposes “an original theoretical reflection on the inclusion of the public in performative practices, through strategies of emotional stimulation that enhance collective creativity, based on the case study of Silent Disco (2019), a performance by Alfredo Martins”.

    The Estudar a Dança Award was attributed to Laura Rozas Letelier for the thesis Formas Coreográficas de Reflexão Histórica: Para uma Timeline a Haver. Genealogias de Dança enquanto prática artística em Portugal.

    Congratulations to the winners!

  • T(h)eses | Julian F. Massa: Muses and Management — Corporate Cultural Responsibility in Germany

    T(h)eses | Julian F. Massa: Muses and Management — Corporate Cultural Responsibility in Germany

    The new publication of the series T(h)eses that celebrates the best dissertations of The Lisbon Consortium is Julian F. Massa’s “Muses and Management — Corporate Cultural Responsibility in Germany”.

    This dissertation analyses the concept of Corporate Cultural Responsibility in Germany, considering key aspects of corporate responsibility. As public finances tighten, corporate social engagement, including in the arts and culture, is becoming increasingly important. However, the discourse remains largely national. Hence, two case studies illustrate best practice examples from Germany. Ultimately, the question remains whether business supports culture or vice versa.

    Available at:

    https://www.uceditora.ucp.pt/pt/the-lisbon-consortium-theses/3382-muses-and-management.html

    Indice:

    Table of Contents
    List of Abbreviations

    CHAPTER I
    Introduction
    1.1 Does it pay to be good?
    1.2 Research Methodology
    1.3 Structure

    CHAPTER II
    A Tribute to Virtue: Corporate Responsibility
    2.1 Manifestations of Corporate Responsibility
    2.1.1 Corporate Social Responsibility
    2.1.1.1 Corporate Sustainability
    2.1.1.2 Corporate Social Responsibility in Germany
    2.1.2 Corporate Citizenship
    2.1.2.1 Corporations and Citizenship
    2.1.2.2 Corporate Philanthropy
    2.1.2.3 Modes and Motives for Corporate Citizenship
    2.1.2.4 Corporate Citizenship in Germany
    2.1.3 Corporate Governance
    2.1.3.1 Corporate Governance in Germany
    2.1.3.2 The ‘German Corporate Governance Code’
    2.2 Corporate Cultural Responsibility
    2.2.1 Beyond Cultural Sponsoring
    2.2.2 Measures
    2.2.3 Benefits
    2.2.3.1 Culture & Confidence
    2.2.3.2 Strategic Dimensions

    CHAPTER III
    Corporate Cultural Responsibility in Germany
    3.1 A Short History of Private Cultural Funding
    3.2 Political Framework Conditions
    3.3 Quantifying Corporate Cultural Responsibility
    3.3.1 The 2010 Kulturkreis Survey
    3.3.2 Corporate Cultural Sponsoring
    3.3.3 Corporate Foundations
    3.4 Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft im BDI e. V.
    3.4.1 Funding Areas
    3.4.2 Working Groups
    3.5 The Chemistry of Societal Commitment – BASF SE
    3.5.1 “Creating Chemistry for a Sustainable Future”
    3.5.2 BASF’s Cultural Engagement
    3.5.2.1 Commitment to the Region
    3.5.2.2 Best Practice Examples

    CHAPTER IV
    Conclusion
    Bibliography