Gulbenkian Foundation at the Biodiversity COP17
19 – 30 oct / Yerevan, Armenia
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is taking part in COP17, the UN Biodiversity Conference in Yerevan, with debates, film, sound art and a book launch.
As part of the Gulbenkian Natural Heritage initiative, this participation is jointly organised by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Armenian Communities Department and Equity and Sustainability Programme, reinforcing the Foundation’s commitment to nature conservation and biodiversity protection in Portugal and Armenia. It also highlights the role of philanthropy, environmental organisations and local communities.
Because COP17 is being held in Armenia, this work connects with Gulbenkian Foundation’s ties to Armenian communities, which go back to the origins of its founder, Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian. The programme was developed with local and international organisations, and it brings audiences in Portugal and Armenia together around nature.
The Miraculous Land
Mariana Pinto Coelho Dias, 2026. National Gallery of Armenia, 19 – 30 Oct
This installation brings the sounds of the Gulbenkian Garden in Lisbon to Yerevan, and invites visitors to listen to how nature and urban life coexist. From dawn to dusk, birds and other living creatures mingle with visitors’ voices, traffic and passing aircraft in a garden that is alive and always changing.
The work was created from recordings made during an artist residency at CAM – Gulbenkian Modern Art Centre (co-curated by Rita Fabiana and Luísa Santos and developed within the framework of the European project Institution(ing)s) and adapted for COP17. It asks how we inhabit, influence and transform the soundscapes around us.
Wherever you are, you can listen to it on this page.
Programme at COP17
Launch / 19 Oct / 17:00 / Zangak Bookstore
Outside – A Guide to Discovering Nature
Written by Maria Ana Peixe Dias and Inês Teixeira do Rosário, with illustrations by Bernardo P. Carvalho, this guide suggests ways to observe and explore the nature on our doorstep. The Armenian edition brings it to new readers.
Documentary screening / 20 Oct / 19:30 / AHA Collective
Guardians of Natural Heritage
Directed by Daniel Espírito Santo, this documentary follows eight environmental organisations supported by the Gulbenkian Foundation across different regions of Portugal. It draws on the landscapes and on the accounts of people working on the ground to introduce the people, places and relationships that keep habitats and species protected. It also shows how much depends on working with local authorities, schools and communities.
Conversation / 23 Oct / 19:30 / AHA Collective
The Invention of a Garden – Matenadaran and Gulbenkian in Dialogue
What does it mean to design and care for a garden? What place can a garden have in a city? This conversation draws on the experience of the Gulbenkian Garden, the Matenadaran Museum of Manuscripts and the Armenia Tree Project. It explores the relationships between gardens, nature and urban life. It also considers the role of the people who conceive, look after and tend these gardens.
Other sessions featuring Gulbenkian Foundation
Workshop / 23 Oct / 09:00 / COP17 Blue Zone
IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment
Accredited participants only.
This session is devoted to the IPBES assessment report on business and biodiversity, and includes a contribution from Gulbenkian. It focuses on the relationship between business activity and biodiversity, and on how scientific knowledge can help guide business decisions.
All times are Yerevan local time (three hours ahead of Lisbon).
Why the Biodiversity COP17 matters
COP17 is a decisive moment for assessing progress towards the 2030 global biodiversity targets. The conference will carry out the first global review of how the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is being implemented. It will identify progress and gaps, and guide the efforts needed to speed up nature conservation and ecosystem restoration.