Department of Cultural Research & Tourism
An integrated international network spanning Europe, Africa, and North America — combining German academic standards, Lusophone heritage, Anglophone research traditions, and African knowledge systems within one institutional framework.
What LAGAI exists to do
- Conduct internationally recognised research in culture, tourism, heritage, language, science, and society.
- Document and preserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
- Promote ethical international research partnerships.
- Support evidence-based policy and sustainable development.
- Foster intercultural dialogue and academic exchange.
- Build bridges between Europe, Africa, and the wider Atlantic community through collaborative scholarship.
Rather than studying communities from a distance, LAGAI develops long-term research relationships by working directly within the societies it serves.
Five bases · one Atlantic institution
🇩🇪 Germany
One of LAGAI’s principal academic and institutional bases.
- Academic cooperation with German universities and research institutes
- Comparative African and postcolonial studies
- European policy dialogue on ethics, heritage protection, and responsible research
- Visitor behaviour and cultural reception studies involving German travellers to Cape Verde
- Joint scientific publications and international conferences
🇵🇹 Portugal
LAGAI’s primary Lusophone research corridor and diaspora engagement hub.
- Cape Verdean diaspora studies
- Heritage continuity among Lusophone communities
- Research on second- and third-generation Cape Verdean–Portuguese identity
- Cultural orientation programmes along the Portugal–Cape Verde mobility corridor
- Collaborative research with Portuguese academic institutions
🇺🇸 United States
A key platform for Atlantic diaspora studies and international academic collaboration.
- Documentation of Cape Verdean–American history and heritage
- African diaspora research
- Collaboration with American universities and research centres
- UNESCO-oriented heritage documentation initiatives
- International conferences and scholarly exchange
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
LAGAI’s principal Anglophone research partner.
- Ethical research frameworks for international fieldwork
- Sustainable and community-centred cultural tourism research
- Cultural reception studies involving UK visitors to Cape Verde
- Academic collaboration with British universities
- Capacity building and knowledge exchange
🇨🇻 Cape Verde
One of LAGAI’s primary operational centres — the principal location for field-based research and community engagement, where the Institute’s international research philosophy is put into practice through direct work with communities, institutions, and cultural practitioners.
- International field research
- Cultural heritage documentation
- Tourism and destination studies
- Community-based participatory research
- Language and oral tradition documentation
- Welcome Experience Programme
- Research training and international field schools
- Living laboratory for interdisciplinary Atlantic studies
Many academic traditions · one institutional framework
LAGAI’s strength lies in the integration of multiple academic traditions rather than the dominance of any single national perspective. Each operational base contributes distinct expertise while working within a unified institutional framework — globally connected, locally grounded.