Is Creativity the key to the future? Join the discussion on Creativity, AI and Sustainability in Braga
How can creativity help us understand artificial intelligence, respond to crises and find more sustainable solutions? There are times when we realise that familiar answers are no longer enough. Artificial intelligence is changing the way we work and create, while conflict and the environmental crisis compel us to rethink how we live together and pursue the common good. That is why it makes sense to devote a week to exploring where creativity comes from and what it can do.
Creativity is not simply the ability to come up with an original idea. It allows us to look at familiar problems afresh, bring together fields of knowledge that are usually kept apart and imagine alternatives when existing answers no longer suffice. This conviction lies at the heart of Creativity Week 2026, which will take place in Braga from 12 to 16 October.
Part of the Transform4Europe European University Alliance, the initiative brings together researchers, artists, students and representatives from the business community to discuss the role of creativity in science, technology, the arts and society. The five-day programme includes lectures, round-table discussions, workshops and cultural events held at different venues across the city.
The talks illustrate the many different ways in which creativity can be approached. Ana Margarida Abrantes will present creativity as a collective process that can help us respond to crises and conflict. Dustin Stokes will explore the relationship between expertise, perception and imagination, asking how specialist knowledge enables some people to see possibilities that others have not yet recognised. Pierre Cassou-Noguès will examine the relationship between AI and the environmental crisis to ask whether human beings and machines are genuinely capable of creating something new. Manuela Veloso, one of the world’s leading experts in AI and robotics, will discuss the challenges and opportunities of continual learning between human beings and AI agents.
The programme also includes the Science Café “What’s the Power of Creativity?” at Muzeu, featuring Isabel Capeloa Gil, Sergia Adamo and Pedro Abrunhosa. Further discussions will address science, art, geopolitics, faith, industry, sustainability and entrepreneurship.
Creativity Week brings together international experts while also opening several events to the wider public. The invitation is extended to everyone interested in understanding where creativity comes from, how it can be fostered and what role it might play in responding to the challenges of our time.
Register to attend the discussion