The Regional Director for Communities will visit the United States of America from November 10 to 16, participating in several activities.
 On November 10, Graça Castanho will hold several meetings with the Consulates of Portugal in Boston and New Bedford, and the Vice-Consulate in Providence. On the same day the Regional Director for Communities will preside over the Opening Session of course “Dialogues on the History of the Azores” at the House of the Azores of New England, a joint initiative between the Regional Directorate for Communities and the Overseas History Centre of the University of the Azores.
On day 11, the Regional Director will attend the meeting held by o the Portuguese American Citizenship Project, a project that started in 1999 with the purpose of encouraging political and civic participation among the Portuguese community residing in the USA, promoting the attainment of U.S. citizenship by Portuguese emigrants as well as their voter registration, enabling them to exercise their voting rights. Currently, the project is implemented in 25 North American cities, comprising fifty cultural, fraternal and religious organisations (including 25 churches) in the states of California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.
On November 12 and 13, Graça Castanho will attend, on behalf of the President of the Government, the International Forum “The Teaching of Portuguese Language in North America - Challenges and Prospects for the 21st Century” in Washington, an event organised by Association of Portuguese Teachers of the United States and Canada. This Association was founded in 1994 with the purpose of supporting either Portuguese teachers from community schools or teachers of Portuguese descent teaching in American and Canadian public schools.
Furthermore, the Regional Director for Communities will meet with the University of Massachusetts in Boston as well as with the Portuguese World Language Institute on November 15 and 16.