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THE
MISCONCEPTION THAT THE PORTUGUESE ARE NOT SCIENCE ORIENTED OR TECHNOLOGY INCLINED Dr. Luis Morgadinho
Introduction
I thought I would start by introducing myself, I am not trying
to be narcissistic, but I think it appropriate to let you know
a little about me before I begin.
I am currently a teacher for the Peel Board of
Education. I have a Bachelor degree from the University of Toronto
and a Masters degree in Education from Cansius College in Buffalo.
I got involved with the Portuguese community here
in the Toronto area in the mid nineties when I enrolled in the
graduate school. My main focus was local politics, community
media and educational issues. The greatest joy I have received
from my involvement was to befriend some young Portuguese professionals
with whom I have maintained contact through the years. Together
we would debate issues relating to the community in local cafés.
In the last few years my involvement has waned.
I have concentrated on career issues and other personal matters. Therefore,
allowing Senior Morgadinho, my father to carry on the banner.
How I became part of the Emporium
For reasons unknown to me, Mr. Ferreira, the organizer of
the Emporium, asked me to participate as a speaker. I was a bit taken aback by
his request, even more so now, when I have seen the excellent other speakers
that share this stage with me. I never considered myself a worthy speaker on
issues relating to Portuguese culture. Nevertheless, it has been a learning
experience. For this reason I would like to think of my speech, not so much as an empirical
dissertation filled with facts and data, but rather as a personal reflection
based, I might add, on anecdotal experiences through my discussions with
colleagues and professionals.
The sole purpose of my speech is to generate
discussion and maybe activism in whatever it may be.
Why This Topic?
Out of all the possible topics to speak on,
this is not my strongest. Now this may be shocking to you, “why would he take
upon himself a topic that he is not proficient in?”. But this is precisely the
point; I wanted to challenge myself by doing just that. In so doing I gained
invaluable knowledge and experience.
I came across the topic almost accidentally
through my discussions with a friend. I should give him credit; his name is
Peter Ferreira, and has an unquenchable passion for science and technology,
especially aerospace.
In my eyes he is the real expert on this. I am
merely the ambassador attempting to bring this concern to the forefront. As the
standard-bearer broadcasting or propagating, hopefully not venting, I would
like to begin.
Portugal’s Past Glory
Most of us look back, reminiscent, of our past glorious history. A history that is full of the adventure of exploration and discoveries. A history well entrenched in science and technology. Portugal’s glory days were based on their expertise in the knowledge of shipbuilding, map making and navigation. What the golden age of Portugal tells us is that our small nation when focused can achieve great things. We were leaders in some of the cutting edge science and technology that lead us to the ends of the earth in explorations of exotic foreign lands and revelation of new unearthed opportunities.
Although the world has changed tremendously and the circumstances are no longer the same, we still have this potential within us because history lives on within us. When we look back towards our past it should inspire us to forge ahead into our future with the strength that our past gives us.
What we should not do when looking to our past is allow ourselves to be so incapacitated by its glory that all we generate is contempt and cynicism for contemporary Portuguese culture.
Reason For The Misconception
Why
this perpetuating misconception about ourselves regarding science and
technology?
A dictatorship preoccupied with maintaining the
coffers full rather than investing in the welfare of its citizens. A political
system that feared change and fearful of its citizens as agents of that change.
A political system based on order over progress. An oligarchy that focused on
control at the expense of the well being of its citizens. A benevolent big
brother that initially meant well, but over time strangled the development of
its most precious resource, its people.
It never saw the need to fully invest in the
education of its people. It embraced a mentality of being overly cautious about
modernism, led in this direction partly by the church. Of course you can point
to positive elements of the regime, its ability to avoid our involvement in the
Second World War, for example. But to my knowledge its most enduring negative
quality was that it developed a cultural mentality of complacency. The constant
reliance on big brother for the answers, a top down social strata that did not
develop its people’s own ability of self-direction.
Unfortunately, this mentality is not easily
removed from the consciousness of a people. We were too accustomed to having
decisions dictated to us from above. This did not challenge our people. While
most developed countries were expanding their education system, Portugal took
only small steps in this direction as it related to education.
Our International Image
This brings me to another point, our international image.
Our self-image is as much conceived by us as it is by those around us. Many
countries saw Portugal as backwards, part of a bygone era that ended with the
Second World War. We have not fully recovered from this image by our
international neighbours and from ourselves, so much so, that we ourselves may
be self-fulfilling prophecies based on how others perceive us.
The many years of isolation and containment
have led to a burst of admiration for everything that is foreign, forgetting to
praise ourselves and cultivate our own home grown industries.
Possibly an inferiority complex has developed
in Portugal’s social consciousness that impedes the Portuguese from progressing
further in the areas of science and technology.
The Historical Legacy and The Struggle for the Future Portugal as a nation has not shaken off the
shackles of its recent past, that of Salazar’s reign as I have tried to
explain. However, there is a tension that exists in our historical legacy. It
is a tug of war vying for Portugal’s national consciousness. It is a tug of
war between reminiscence of our recent
past, the 50 years’ dictatorship, and that of our distant past, our golden age
of exploration on the high seas. Both these tendencies struggle for possession
of Portugal’s national consciousness. This cultural milieu permeates throughout
our current generations. The good news is that we are not predestined to repeat
our recent past and for this reason it is a misconception to believe that the
Portuguese are not capable of advancing in science and technology, to forge
ahead new competitive industries in these areas.
Post Salazar Portugal: the Brain Drain
There is no doubt that in the last thirty-years since the
April Revolution, Portugal has undergone tremendous changes. During the dictatorship many flocked to other
countries for various reasons so as to escape enlistment in military service
fighting rebels in overseas colonies, others for political and social freedom,
yet others simply seeking a better life and opportunities for employment. Unfortunately, this trend did not slow down
with the end of the dictatorship. In fact it accelerated. During the 1970’s and
early 1980’s the political, socio-economic turmoil Portugal endured caused many
people to seek refuge in foreign lands. Newly found freedom of mobility,
coupled with instability and uncertainty led many individuals to seek their
fortunes. Portugal in their eyes simply just did not have the infrastructure
necessary to offer them the career opportunities and lifestyle they were
seeking. This exodus once again thwarted our progress and perpetuated the
misconception that Portugal did not have the scientific and technical
intellectual property necessary to compete on the open market.
Post Salazar Portugal: Education
During the 1970’s the educational system
underwent an overhaul. However, it was heavily disrupted. The educational
system became highly politicized from both left and right to the point where
serious reforms could not take place. It was only in the 1980’s that things
stabilized. In the 1990’s further effort was made to enroll all school-aged
children in primary schools. This has brought literacy rates up. One huge
problem however persists.
Thus higher education is by no means universal
but rather a niche for a small elite that tend to control the government, big
business and professions. Now this happens in most countries but it may be more
pronounced in Portugal. Although serious efforts have been made throughout the
past decade to counter-act this, the problem persists. Fifty years of a
hierarchical social-strata has proven hard to topple.
This is not merely a problem delegated to the
educational system. This is a far broader problem, one that goes to the root of
a people’s values and concept of themselves. This once more perpetuated the
misconception that the Portuguese are not scientifically oriented or
technologically inclined. There is a need to cultivate an appreciation for
education, especially in science and technology. The right leadership is needed
but how can one socially engineer such an expectation? That is the question.
Big Is Not Necessarily Better Is this an issue of size? After all, Portugal is a small
nation with a population equivalent to that of Ontario – 11 million people.
However, there are smaller nations with smaller populations that project a lot
more power in the market place within the arena pf science and technology. For
example:
Certainly the size of a nation can play a
factor but it is not by far the most overriding factor. All these
aforementioned nations have a well-educated workforce that is driven to
succeed. What About Portugal?
There are a lot of excellent scientists, doctors, engineers,
technicians and computer specialists of Portuguese origin. But that is not the
problem. The fact is that they exist, rather
they are so well integrated into the mainstream that they are easily
overlooked. Even in Portugal, where we have great leaders but with little or no
exposure, lack of self-promotion has further accentuated this perception that
the Portuguese do not have good scholars, scientists and technicians. Here are
a few examples:
The list goes on but time does not permit me to
continue. Conclusion
My point is that although there are obstacles to overcome in
ending the misconception, the road has been paved by these aforementioned
industrialists, scientists and others. We are not striving in darkness. Portugal has made progress to ensure that our
historical legacy is one entrenched in our former glory as explorers and
innovators and not one that is constrained by our recent past of a 50 years’
dictatorship. The struggle continues… I do not think I have revealed anything new
here, maybe I have articulated some of the thoughts you have also been having.
My hope is to generate discussion and hopefully maybe some activism because we
immigrants suffer from the same systemic problem. |
