The 15th Assembly of the World Council of the Houses of the Azores, scheduled for next year, will be organised by the Regional Directorate for Communities (DRC) in the archipelago.

The information was provided by the Regional Director for Communities, Graça Castanho, at the closing session of the 14th World Assembly of Houses of the Azores that was held in Rio de Janeiro last Sunday.

In 2012, the meeting of the World Council of House of the Azores will be organised under the theme of inclusion and the participation of youngsters from communities as means of bring closer younger Azorean generations and encourage them to participate proactively in the Houses of the Azores.

With the organisation of the DRC, next year’s meeting will be chaired by the House of the Azores of Santa Catarina by its President, Carin Machado.

This year, the closing session of the World Council of Houses of the Azores took place at the headquarters of the House of the Azores of Rio de Janeiro and was attended by hundreds of people, such as the representatives of the 13 Houses of the Azores (including the newly created House of the Azores of Uruguay – Los Azorenos), local politicians, honourees and members of current and former Boards of the House of the Azores hosting the event.

Before dinner, participants also attended a presentation by the Azores Tourism Association (ATA) as well as at the dissemination of the Carnival of Santa Catarina by the samba school “O Consulado,” which chose the Azores as the main theme of next year’s Carnival Parade in Florianopolis.

These two initiatives marked the beginning of the programme “Açores no Brasil e Brasil nos Açores” (Azores in Brazil and Brazil in the Azores) and were developed by the Regional Directorate for Communities in partnership with other departments of the Regional Government and the Houses of the Azores in Brazil.

At the occasion, various personalities from the Azorean community in Rio de Janeiro were distinguished and Criaçores – Associação de Artesãos da Ilha de São Miguel pelo Bordado de São Miguel a matiz em dois tons de azul (an association of artisans from São Miguel Island) was awarded with the Medal of Merit of the World Council of Houses of the Azores.

This event also featured the performance of the “Padre Tomaz Borba” Folklore Group of the House of the Azores hosting the event as well as of the “Bateria e Passistas” (Battery and Dancers) of the Rio de Janeiro Samba School; both performances were took place after dinner.

The session of the 14th General was closed by the Regional Director for Communities took the opportunity to make a very positive assessment of the works praised the commitment and professionalism of the House of the Azores of Rio de Janeiro in the organisation of this meeting.

During the event, Graça Castanho also recalled that “the ongoing programme “Açores no Brasil e Brasil nos Açores” enhances the work that is being developed to promote the Azores in the four Brazilian states where the majority of the Azorean community lives, promoting culture and the economic potential of both destinations.”