Teresa Nóvoa has a BA in Anthropology (Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal) and a Master’s Degree in Culture & Development Studies (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium). Within the scope of the latter, she did a research internship at the Gorongosa National Park, in Mozambique, which resulted in a thesis about the social construction of natural heritage. Throughout her professional career, Teresa has mostly worked in the context of NGOs operating in Portugal’s rural areas and on the intersection between heritage – natural and cultural -, community participation and local development. Nevertheless, a research dimension has been transversal to most of her professional experience.