Lisbon establishes Alcindo Monteiro Prize and Observatory

The proposals, approved unanimously, aim to distinguish Lisbon "as a city of solidarity, promoting equality", developing policies "that contribute to non-discrimination, promoting human rights and promoting equality".

The Alcindo Monteiro Municipal Prize is due to start in the 2024/2025 school year, to distinguish the best project/action on the subject of combating hate speech promoted by schools in the Lisbon area.

In 2023, according to the proposal signed by the Citizens for Lisbon councillors and approved unanimously, "hate crimes in Portugal rose by 38%. In total, there were 347 crimes of discrimination and incitement to hatred, 77 more cases than in the previous year, according to data collected by Lusa from the PSP and GNR."

It is "essential" to "firmly combat existing inequalities, racist crimes and social exclusion" and, they add, "to create the means to collect objective, reliable and comparable data and to carry out research into racism, xenophobia and associated phenomena".

The Alcindo Monteiro Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia in the City of Lisbon will include technicians from Lisbon City Council and civil society associations and groups. Each year, the group will present an annual report and public policies to be implemented by Lisbon City Council.

Alcindo was born in 1967 in Cape Verde - a Portuguese colony at the time.

On the night of June 10, 1995, he was murdered in Lisbon in a violent and racist crime. He was 27 years old.