The Regional Director of Communities, Paulo Teves, highlighted the important role that has been played by the House of the Azores of Hilmar, California, in the promotion the culture and traditions of the Azorean people as well as in the efforts to disseminate them among youngsters of Azorean descent living in this state.

Paulo Teves started Thursday a trip to the USA, where he will visit the emigrant communities and meet with Azorean institutions based on these states. During this visit, the government official praised the role played by the Houses of the Azores in the promotion of Region in their communities.

"The Houses of the Azores play a relevant role in the countries and regions where they represent the Region; for this reason, they may rely on the Regional Government as a committed and privileged partner in the promotion and support of their activities," stated the Regional Director for Communities at the end of a meeting with the House of the Azores of Hilmar.

Paulo Teves also acknowledged the "major effort" carried out by this institution to "meet the challenges that Azorean emigrant communities face in the State of California."

Founded in 1977, the House of the Azores of Hilmar has the primary goal of providing all Azorean emigrants and their descendants with the opportunity of reviving and disseminating their traditions.

This year, the World Council of Houses of the Azores will hold its 17th General Assembly, which brings together the 14 institutions headquartered in Canada, USA, Brazil, Uruguay and Mainland Portugal.

On the first day of his visit to the United States, the Regional Director for Communities also met with the coordinating board of the Portuguese American Citizenship Project - PACP, a non-profit organisation that aims to promote, through voting, the active participation of the Portuguese community in the USA.

Paulo Teves highlighted the work developed by institutions such as PACP "in defending the rights and interests of the Portuguese communities, especially the Azorean community, as well as in promoting a better integration in their host society."

On Friday, the Regional Director for Communities will participate in a meeting of youngsters of Azorean-descent from the State of California, an initiative promoted by the Luso-American Education Foundation.