The Window on the World project is a project coordinated by Prof. Diana Gonçalves
within the scope of the Ecocultures seminar (MA & PhD in Culture Studies), with the
support of the Lisbon Consortium and CECC (Research Centre for Communication and Culture).
Using the expression “window on the world” as a motto, the project wishes to bring awareness to pressing environmental matters, engage with worldwide efforts of environmental action creatively, and foster a meaningful relationship between humans, non-humans, and the planet Earth.
Taking place every year to celebrate World Environment Day (June 5), the project consists of a photography exhibition during the entire month of June that explores the overall theme of that year’s WED.
The Call for 2026 will be launched soon.
Call for 2025:
We invite all Lisbon Consortium students (MA & PhD) to participate with an original photo related to the theme of the 2025 edition of the WED, hosted by the Republic of Korea, which will focus on ending plastic pollution. Candidates are free to approach the topic in the way that resonates most with them.
Throughout history, some materials have gained such social, cultural, and economic importance that they have named certain periods, e.g., the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages. The prevalence and ubiquity of plastic in the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st has justified the inauguration of a new age: the Plastic Age. This material has fostered a new relationship between humans, nature, and technology and (re)shaped societies due to its multifunctionality, diversity, adaptability, durability, and affordability. Its production and dissemination democratized access to certain goods and stimulated an economy of abundance and a culture of consumption based on cheap, disposable products that respond to the needs and desires of the present and are rapidly replaced by new ones whenever necessary. In recent years, however, with the exponential rise of plastic pollution, more emphasis has been given to the role of plastic in the development of a culture of waste (accumulation) with lasting effects on various ecosystems. World Environment Day 2025 wishes to bring awareness to the ‘plastic problem’ we live with, focusing on efforts to end plastic pollution globally.
Submissions addressing the topic of the plastic crisis and innovative actions for a sustainable future are to be sent by April 30 to lxconsortium@ucp.pt and must include:
- High-resolution photo (vertical or horizontal; color or black and white; digital or
analog; edited or unedited); - Title of photo and date;
- Brief text (max. 500 words) explaining how/why the photo was taken, as well
as the author’s interpretation of the image (linking it with the theme of the
WED); - Author’s bio note (max. 60 words).
The selected photos and accompanying texts will be compiled in a digital book (made
available during the exhibition).
The Lisbon Consortium 