Africa-Press – Angola. The island of São Vicente, in Cape Verde, attracts with its cultural diversity, whose traditional music sounds merge with other forms of art, a reflection of the history and customs of the Cape Verdean people .
With a rich musical tradition, the island, discovered in 1462 by the Portuguese navigator Diogo Afonso, is considered the “cultural capital” of the country, offering visitors restaurants with local cuisine, to the sound of morna and coladeira.
Home to beaches with warm, crystal-clear water, such as Salamansa and Baía das Gatas, the island, with its own unusual atmosphere, has the streets of the capital, Mindelo, adorned by European colonial architecture.
Despite having a permanent cultural agenda, the highlights of culture are carnival, summer, pilgrimage festivities and Kavala Fresk Feastival.
Throughout the city of Mindelo it is very common to find people selling handmade products, ceramic pieces made from coconut shells and necklaces made from shells and stones.
It is considered the entry and departure point for mountain tourists (in Santo Antão) during the European winter period.
These days, the island is “buzzing”, as it hosts, between the 18th and 20th of this month, the 1st International Congress: Science, Innovation and Development in Lusofonia, where Angola will be represented by the vice-president of the Republic, Esperança da Costa.
The event promoted by the Lusófona University of Cape Verde (ULCV) will feature, in addition to Angola and Cape Verde, the presence of Portugal, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, who will discuss the blue and green economy, sustainable tourism, information technologies, digital transition and renewable energies, among others.
In the cultural capital of Cape Verde, the movement in reference hotels of high-level delegations that disembark at Cesária Évora international airport, to participate in the event that has the involvement of the Cape Verdean Government, is notable.
Returning to the references of the Island, the birthplace of famous musicians such as Cesária Évora, Luís Morais and many others, its main sources are fishing, tourism and the exploration of the busy “Porto Grande”, located in the bay of the city of Mindelo. of revenue.
The city’s perimeter extends far beyond Praça Nova, which, currently with many residents from other islands in the archipelago, namely Santo Antão and São Nicolau, allowing population growth, which is currently estimated at around 75 thousand inhabitants, 95% of which are concentrated in the city of Mindelo.
About the country
Cape Verde is an archipelago located off the coast of West Africa, with a land area of around 4,033 square kilometers, with the city of Praia as its capital. The volcanic islands that make it up are small and mountainous.
There is an active volcano on the island of Fogo, which is also the highest point in the archipelago, at 2,829 meters.
The country is made up of ten islands (Santo Antão, São Vicente, São Nicolau, Fogo, Santiago, Maio, Boa Vista, Sal and Brava), of which nine are inhabited, with Santa Luzia Island, the only one not inhabited, and several others uninhabited islands.
With an estimated population of 593,149 inhabitants, Portuguese is the official language and Creole is the mother tongue, also used as a second language by descendants of Cape Verdeans living in other parts of the world.
University education
Cape Verdean higher education comprises university and polytechnic higher education, which award bachelor’s, master’s and doctor’s degrees and higher professional studies diplomas.
The study cycle leading to the bachelor’s degree lasts between six and eight curricular semesters and the master’s degree lasts between three and four curricular semesters, including attendance at the specialization course and the presentation of an original dissertation or a final internship report.
The country has eight higher education institutions (Higher Institute of Economics and Business, Higher Institute of Art, Technology and Culture, Institute of Law and Social Sciences, Jean Piaget University, Lusófona University, University of Cabo, University of Santiago and University of Mindelo).
Political organization
In Cape Verde, there is a parliamentary system of government, in which the President of the Republic is elected by universal, direct and secret suffrage, with the Prime Minister, head of the Government, being appointed by the President of the Republic, after consulting the political forces with seats in the Parliament and taking into account the electoral results, the existence or not of a majority political force and the possibilities of coalitions or alliances.
For the purposes of electing the President of the Republic, the national territory constitutes a single electoral district, which corresponds to a single electoral college.
For the election of Deputies to the National Assembly, the country is divided into electoral districts, to be defined by law, with each of them corresponding to an electoral college.
The country has seven parties, namely the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), the Independent and Democratic Cape Verdean Union (UCID), the Democratic Convergence Party (PCD), the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), the Labor Party and of Solidarity (PTS), Movement for Democracy (MPD), Social Democratic Party (PSD).
José Maria Pereira Neves, from PAICV, is the current President of the Republic, elected in 2021, becoming the fifth head of State of Cape Verde, who appointed Ulisses Correia e Silva as prime minister.
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