The Regional Director for Communities signed today in Wakefield, Massachusetts, a memorandum of understanding with Cast - Center for Applied Special Technology for the creation of an online platform to support the teaching of Portuguese language.

The programme "Universal Design for Learning and Teaching of the Portuguese Language Worldwide" is a joint project that counts on the support of several partners, such as the Regional Direction for Communities, the University of the Azores and the Portuguese World Language Institute at the Lesley University. This initiative is intended to promote international collaboration in the development of teaching materials that are universally designed to enhance and maximise the opportunities for learning Portuguese worldwide.

The Government of the Azores, through the Regional Secretary of the Presidency, has established over the years several partnerships with universities and schools linked to the teaching of Portuguese language, focusing on the phenomenon of emigration and the development of a positive cultural identity. In addition to enhancing the geostrategic position of the Azores worldwide, these partnerships are also intended to build and strengthen their ties with the United States, Canada, Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking countries.

By developing this programme, the teaching of Portuguese language worldwide will be carried out through an innovative educational framework, based on the research of flexible learning sciences in order to accommodate individual differences in learning initiatives.
 
The Regional Director for Communities, who is visiting the Azorean emigrant communities on the East Coast of the United States, has established contacts with various organisations to disseminate some materials concerning the LEGAL programme - Legalization Effort of the Government of the Azores and Logistics.

In addition to presenting the goals and purposes of the LEGAL programme, Graça Castanho is undertaking efforts to explain to Azorean emigrants the problems of deportation for the Azores, communities and host countries. In this regard, she stressed the importance of some aspects to be taken into consideration when applying for naturalisation.

As part of the activities developed by the Regional Director for Communities among the Azorean community during her working visit, Graça Castanho will work with the Bristol County Sheriff's Office to reach an understanding on the terms of a protocol to be established between these two entities.

The strategy defined at the International Symposium on Human Rights and Quality of Life of the Portuguese speaking Communities in U.S. and Canada, held last November, is the same theme for the meeting which Graça Castanho will hold with MAPS- Massachusetts Alliance for Portuguese Speakers at the end of her visit in order to continue this initiative.