TEHIC-Handbook_of_best_practices

144 TEHIC Towards a European Heritage Interpretation Curriculum 7.3.1. Discovering Lisbon’s African Heritage Since 2016, Batoto Yetu Portugal’s guided tours, “Discovering Lisbon’s African Heritage”, have been open to the public! The aim of these visits is to make known the African side of Lisbon, which is currently dispersed in numerous memories and visible and invisible traces. The “migration” of African populations is a permanent element in the History of Portugal since the 6th century. Of the Moors’ own free will (Islamized Africans and Arabs), or “by force” (until the end of the 18th century) or later “by force” (from colonialism since the end of the 19 th century to 1974, and the today’s globalisation), several African peoples settled in the city of Lisbon. After 1974, different communities from different colonies migrated to Portugal as a result of the end of the Colonial War. Some of this migration has happened in waves due to eco- nomic reasons. The presence of these populations has always been different to that of other people: most of these “recent” African populations did not come of their own free will, as it was the case with Romans, Moors (Islamized Africans) and Arabs. Registration to the activities is always open, and it can be done by email or telephone. Guides and members of Batoto Yetu do the walks. There is not any specific target public, although most audiences are American and Brazilian tourists. There are three prearranged itineraries, but they can be customised by the guide upon customers request. Adaptations to the tour are possible considering the weather, the available time that the group has (typical tour is 2-3 hours) and thematic focus. Visits are mainly made by Tuktuk and on foot and they are offered in Portuguese and English. The project was possible thanks to the funding by the Portuguese Government (Repúbli - ca Portuguesa), Lisbon City Council and the High Commissioner for Migrations (ACM). The association has also private sponsors, most of them from Europe and North America.