From 23 to 27 March, we celebrate Reading Week, an event dedicated to promoting books and critical reflection. This year, the book *A Vida Faz-se de Acasos e Valores* (Life Is Made of Coincidences and Values) by José Hipólito dos Santos invites us to reflect on the role of choices, values and circumstances in shaping our lives.

The author’s life reflects many of these themes. Born in 1932 in Porto, he grew up in a family environment marked by values of resistance and social conscience — the son of a textile worker and a Republican military officer. Throughout his youth, he lived in various cities due to his father’s career, an experience that contributed to a broad and critical view of society.

As a working student, he became involved early on in intellectual gatherings and debates, as well as in civic and political movements against the regime. His active participation in student organisations, cooperatives and opposition movements, as well as his imprisonment in 1962 and subsequent exile, reveal a life deeply marked by a commitment to freedom and justice.

Abroad, he remained politically and academically active, participating in international movements and in May 1968 in Paris. Upon his return to Portugal, he continued to be involved in education, cooperativism and international development projects, collaborating with organisations such as the UN.

Thus, *Life Is Made of Coincidences and Values* takes on an even greater significance, introducing us to the life of an inspiring man, in which the vagaries of circumstance constantly intersect with the steadfastness of values.

During this Reading Week, and as we approach the commemorations of the 1976 Constitution and the 25 April Revolution, we are challenged to explore this work and to promote activities that encourage critical thinking, the sharing of ideas and a love of reading.

We celebrate the transformative power of books and the life stories that give them meaning, through the Colloquium ‘Between Chance and Values: Politics, Citizenship and Resistance’, which will include a presentation of the work by the author’s daughter, Irene Hipólito dos Santos.