Creator and Founder of the Dark Sky® Alqueva destination | President of the Dark Sky® Association
Apolónia Rodrigues (Aveiro, 1973) holds a degree in Tourism Management and Planning from the University of Aveiro and is one of Europe’s most recognised strategists in the creation of sustainable tourism destinations. A defender of animal welfare and deeply connected to nature, she has always found in innovation and sustainability the pillars for imagining the tourism of the future.
She began her professional career at the Évora Tourism Region in 1998, where she led and implemented several structural projects until 2007. Driven by a vision to enhance the territory through the night sky, she conceived and founded the Dark Sky® brand and the Dark Sky® Alqueva destination, now a global reference in astrotourism and dark-sky preservation.
She is currently President of the Dark Sky® Association, President of the Alentejo Village Tourism Network, and has coordinated the European Sites of Peace Network since 2010. Between 2010 and 2016 she served as co-leader of the Task Force Indicators of NECSTouR – the Network of European Regions for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism. From 2014 to 2016 she was a member of the European Commission’s ETIS Pool of Experts (DG GROW), contributing to the development of the European Tourism Indicator System for sustainable destination management. Between 2005 and 2014 she participated in the Tourism Sustainability Group, responsible for the European Agenda for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism, where she co-led the Indicators Working Group. She was also a member of the European Tourism Advisory Committee Eureka (2009–2013).
Under her leadership, the Dark Sky® Alqueva destination has become a global benchmark, distinguished with more than 60 international awards, including:
In Portugal, the destination has also received broad recognition, including distinctions from Mais Alentejo, Fundação INATEL, and Cinco Estrelas Regiões, reflecting the impact of Dark Sky® Alqueva on the territory’s sustainable, cultural, and tourism development.
Additional personal and institutional international distinctions include:
A visionary strategist with a deep passion for planning, Apolónia Rodrigues has devoted her life to proving that protecting the night sky can illuminate the future of territories, inspiring communities, travellers, and decision-makers to regard the universe as a shared heritage of humanity.
Official Astrophotographer and Observatory Director | Dark Sky® Alqueva Guide
Miguel Claro was born in 1977 in northern Portugal. A professional photographer, traveller, author, and science communicator, he dedicates his career to the promotion of Astronomy through public lectures, articles, exhibitions, guided night-sky observation sessions, and private astrophotography workshops for both beginners and specialised audiences.
He began his path in analogue laboratory astrophotography in 1995, and from 2007 onwards devoted himself to landscape astrophotography, skyscapes, specialising in a visual approach that seeks to unite sky and Earth in an aesthetic and scientific narrative, while highlighting architectural, cultural, and natural heritage. His work invites the public to rediscover the Universe which, despite its grandeur, often remains invisible in contemporary daily life. In 2016 he also began working in deep-sky astrophotography, and over the past five years has specialised in high-resolution time-lapse imaging of the solar chromosphere. This work was highlighted in 2025 in a National Geographic article on solar tornadoes.
Much of his current production focuses on capturing the beauty of the deep sky from the Official Dark Sky® Alqueva Observatory in Cumeada, where he develops highly precise technical and artistic work. He is the official astrophotographer of Dark Sky® Alqueva — the first destination in the world certified as a Starlight Tourism Destination, contributing to the international recognition of the Alentejo sky as a natural heritage of humanity.
He is a Photo Ambassador for the European Southern Observatory (ESO), a contributor to the science portal Space.com, and a photographer member of the international organisation The World at Night (TWAN), representing Portugal. His work has been widely recognised in national and international competitions, and he has been a speaker at TEDx conferences in Lisbon and Caldas da Rainha, as well as at the Central European Deepsky Imaging Conference (CEDIC) in Austria.
Author of the books Astrofotografia – Imagens à Luz das Estrelas and Dark Sky® Alqueva – O Destino das Estrelas/ A Star Destination, both sold out, he regularly contributes to leading publications such as National Geographic, Astronomy Magazine (USA), Astronomy Now (UK), and Ciel et Espace (France). He is represented by the international agency Science Photo Library (UK).
His images have travelled the world, promoting both the beauty and the importance of preserving the night sky, and have been distinguished by NASA as Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) and Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD).
With a perspective that combines technical rigour, artistic sensitivity, and scientific commitment, Miguel Claro reveals the night sky as a bridge between science, culture, and emotion, inspiring audiences worldwide to rediscover their place in the universe.
Sustainability and Activities Coordinator | Dark Sky® Alqueva Guide
Rebecca Slade is a specialist in Sustainable Tourism and Ecology at Dark Sky® Alqueva, where she contributes to integrating responsible environmental practices with transformative experiences connected to nature and the night sky. She holds a degree in Ecology and Wildlife Conservation and a Master’s degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management from Bournemouth University, United Kingdom.
Her deep connection to nature and ecosystem balance has taken her to various parts of the world, participating in projects that promote local community development with minimal environmental impact. She has worked in marine conservation and research in Greece and Madagascar, witnessed anti-poaching efforts on the ground in Mozambique, and collaborated on butterfly conservation and sustainable livelihood initiatives in Cambodia.
Driven by a holistic vision of sustainability, Rebecca also integrates Yoga and body and breath awareness practices into her relationship with nature and the cosmos. For her, the night sky represents a space of contemplation, presence and profound connection, where science, wellbeing and spirituality converge.
Her return to Portugal was motivated by a desire to contribute to the preservation of starry skies and to promote sustainable practices in the Alentejo region. At Dark Sky® Alqueva, she coordinates initiatives that strengthen the harmony between tourism, environmental conservation and human wellbeing, creating experiences that invite visitors to slow down, breathe deeply and reconnect with the Earth and the Universe.
Through an approach that unites ecological science, applied sustainability and inner awareness, Rebecca Slade helps reveal the night sky as a space of balance, inspiration and belonging within the cosmos.
Dark Sky® Alqueva Guide
João Freire is a Physics student at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, an academic path that reflects a solid vocation for the rigorous understanding of natural phenomena and, in particular, the universe.
From an early age, he has been involved with the Corpo Nacional de Escutas (Portuguese Scouting Association), where he developed leadership skills, a sense of mission, and a strong predisposition to learn, share knowledge, and guide others — qualities that are now reflected in his practice as a science communicator.
His passion for astronomy acquired a technical and structured dimension under the guidance of physicist and astronomer Nuno Pereira Santos, with whom he studied as a mentee. This mentorship deepened not only his scientific expertise but also his ability to interpret and communicate the sky in a clear and well-grounded manner.
Throughout his path, he has collaborated with several astronomical observatories as a science outreach communicator, leading astronomical observation sessions and educational activities aimed at diverse audiences.
Within the context of Dark Sky® Alqueva, João Freire represents a new generation of science communicators, combining academic rigour, pedagogical enthusiasm, and sensitivity in the interpretation of the night sky.
Dark Sky® Alqueva Guide
João Prego (20 June 2000) brings to the Dark Sky® Alqueva universe a distinctive trajectory in which artistic sensitivity and a fascination with the cosmos intersect in a natural way.
Passionate about music from an early age, he trained as a Jazz Instrumentalist, developing refined listening skills, creative discipline, and improvisational ability, competences he now carries into the way he interprets and communicates the night sky.
His enchantment with astronomy began far from the Alentejo, on a remote beach in Mozambique in 2011. On a night without any light pollution, beside his father, he lived a formative experience beneath one of the darkest skies on the planet. Years later, while contemplating the star-filled firmament of the Alentejo, he rediscovered that same primordial sensation, an intimate recognition that consolidated his bond with the sky.
Although his path did not originate in formal academic training in astronomy, he has deepened his knowledge in a consistent and guided manner, with the support of colleagues from the Dark Sky® Alqueva team, including Rebecca Slade, professional astrophotographer Miguel Claro, physicist Nuno Pereira Santos, and João Freire, a Physics student at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon.
A dedicated practitioner of astrophotography, strongly influenced by the work of Miguel Claro, João Prego continuously invests in learning concepts of astronomy and physics, with the clear purpose of translating them in an accessible, engaging, and inspiring way, helping each visitor understand, with both emotion and rigour, “what is happening up there”.
He is currently the youngest and most recent Guide on the Dark Sky® Alqueva team, joining a new generation of communicators who combine artistic sensitivity, scientific curiosity, and narrative ability in interpreting the starry skies of the Alentejo.
