"With a remarkable career spanning from being a counsellor judge at the Supreme Court to an advisor to the president of the Republic, Duarte’s impact extends beyond borders."

"Her contributions have been recognized globally, including being awarded the inaugural North-South Prize in 1995 and the prestigious U Tam’si Prize for African Poetry in 2001, making her the only Cape Verdean to achieve such recognition."

"The overlay of her poetry upon her visage not only honours her literary contributions but also embodies the essence of her peaceful activism, reflecting the depth of emotion and the persistent call for harmony within her nation."

"We are not doing this for our country, but for our brothers and sisters in other countries."

"The First Lady has continued to amplify the voices of not only her fellow citizens but African women as a whole, like the 14-year-old Cameroonian American philanthropist Mongai Fankam."

"First Lady of Cabo Verde, Ligia Fonseca, is a woman who possesses a strong mind, storing and producing great legal knowledge, and an even stronger heart that possesses compassion and a drive to make a change."

"It is truly inspiring to see such an influential leader be involved with and active in advocating for global causes."

"There were very hard moments though."

"Once they were in the colony there was almost total silence about their lives."

"I worried the secret police would use our daughter to pressure us and said this to my husband. He said when a person joins this sort of thing, they have to be prepared for anything. It wasn’t easy."

"When I came to study in Portugal, Guilherme’s family welcomed me, and took me to visit the families of the other political prisoners in Tarrafal."

"All this leaves its mark on a 20-year-old woman. When people started talking about our liberation, I saw reasons to join the fight."

"I was not under suspicion because I was studying on a loan given by the Portuguese Youth Organisation, a movement led by the fascist government and based, I came to understand, on the Hitler Youth. What the police wanted to do was warn me not to mix with those ‘communists’ at the house of the students of the empire."

"We were told that in two days we would be leaving and that we could only take 5kg."

"We had just set up home. We ended up closing the door, taking only the clothes that were necessary."

"It was only a small canoe. We could only go two by two, but in our group there were babies who were with their parents."