TEDxPraça Gil Eanes - Metamorphosis

TEDxPraça Gil Eanes Presents: Metamorphosis - The Beauty of Change

You've heard the saying, "Just like the butterfly." But have you ever truly felt it? Transformation is a mysterious, often uncomfortable journey that starts long before we take flight. It’s a process of becoming.

On May 16, 2026, at the stunning Centro Cultural de Lagos, we invite you to experience Metamorphosis with us.

Change is everywhere. In nature, science, technology, societies, and in ourselves. It is constant and often unavoidable.

Our 2026 theme, Metamorphosis, was inspired by the natural world. There’s a lesser-known fact about caterpillars: fewer than 2% actually become butterflies. Transformation is demanding, uncertain, and never guaranteed.

That same pattern appears far beyond nature. Scientific breakthroughs, social change, cultural shifts, and technological progress all move through unstable phases before something new can take shape.

At TEDxPraça Gil Eanes 2026, we explore serious forms of change, past, present, and future, through research, evidence, lived experience, and new perspectives on how transformation really happens.

Leave your expectations at the door and prepare for an event that is both unique and forward-thinking. Whether you're a seasoned innovator, a budding public speaker, or someone who craves authentic connection and sharing new ideas, TEDxPraça Gil Eanes is the place to be.

Come and be part of the change. Secure your ticket and let your own metamorphosis begin!

TEDxPraça Gil Eanes – Programme

8:30 - 9:30 | Registration & Connect

9:30 - 10:00 | Welcome

10:00 - 11:30 | THE BEGINNING OF CHANGE

Performance - Nenad Konstantin (Nesha_music)

Rafael Reis - The Art of Mastering Chaos: We Were Never Meant to Be in Control (ENG)

Idilia Ramos - Stillness: Permission to Stop (ENG)

Marcos Bravo - The Many Mes: How Identity Evolves Through Context (ENG)

11:30 - 12:00 | Coffee Break

12:00 - 13:30 | BREAKDOWN AND REBUILDING

Rose Hes - The Map Through the Mess (ENG)

Aischa Tomasoa - Becoming a Mother: The Transition We Forgot to Hold (ENG)

Alexandra Pereira - The Menopause Lie: Why Fragility and Decline Are Not Inevitable (ENG)  

Alicia M. Rodriguez - The Radical Question: Stop Looking for Answers (ENG)

Performance - Sarah Donkor - Music as My Compass (ENG) 

13:30 - 15:00 | Lunch Break

15:00 - 16:30 | METAMORPHOSIS IN MOTION

Performance - Rancho Folclórico e Etnográfico de Odiáxere 

Eva Monteiro - Counting Butterflies for a Societal Transformative Change (PT)

Nick Madge - Leave Anxiety Behind. Reconnecting to Nature in the Digital Age (ENG)

Miguel Barbosa - Why Should Engineers Be on Medical Teams? (ENG)

16:30 - 17:00 | Coffee Break

17:00 - 18:30 | INTEGRATION AND NEW WORLDS

Joaquim Neves - The Natural Learning Method (ENG)

Ana Sofia Machado Ferreira - Near Death Experiences and Self-Knowledge (PT)

Pedro Machado - Are We Alone? Searching for Life Beyond Earth (ENG)

Performance - Luiza Dedisin, Canta Choir 

18:30 | Closing

Tickets include complimentary coffee breaks and a hot lunch. Tickets with NO lunch, only include complimentary coffee breaks. 

The After Party will be held in Lagos (Urban Dance Studio) and will include a complimentary drink and food.

Talks will be held in English and Portugese, and there will be live translation available between these two languages. So please bring your headphones.

Tickets can be fully refunded until May 2nd. Please write an email to: tedxpracagileanes@gmail.com. No refunds will be issued after May 2nd.

If you need an invoice, please send us an e-mail with your full name, address and NIF to: tedxpracagileanes@gmail.com