Regional Director for Communities to attend Luso-American Education Foundation annual conference in California
The Regional Director for Communities travels to California to attend the 42nd Annual Conference held by the Luso-American Education Foundation - LAEF between March 15 and 17.
On Thursday, March 15, Paulo Teves will meet with young people studying Portuguese at several secondary schools in Fresno. The meeting will take place at California State University, where he will address the importance of learning Portuguese and the involvement of young people in the community.
On the following day, the Regional Director will attend the opening ceremony of the 42nd LAEF Annual Conference, where he will participate in a debate on the theme "Portuguese-American Leadership Retreat—Strategic Plan for the Portuguese-American Community in California." The debate will analyse the definition of an action strategy for the promotion of Portuguese language and culture in this US state.
On the same day, Paulo Teves will meet with the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States – PALCUS in Tulare and will take part in the Portuguese Cultural Night. The event will bring together the Portuguese community residing in this part of the USA, the majority of which is of Azorean origin. Moreover, the Regional Director will attend the opening of the exhibition entitled "Celebrating 15 years of Maré Cheia on the pages of Tribuna Portuguesa" (Maré Cheia is a cultural section of the Portuguese Tribune newspaper).
On the third and final day of his visit to California, Paulo Teves has a scheduled meeting with the California Portuguese American Coalition – CPAC. He will also attend the prize-delivery ceremony of the Luso-American Education Foundation, in addition to participating in various workshops on Genealogy, new Portuguese language teaching tools and the role of Luso-American youth in the Diaspora, among others.
The Luso-American Education Foundation is a non-profit foundation established on June 12, 1963 by a group of citizens of Portuguese origin. Its goals are primarily related to the promotion and sponsorship of Portuguese language and culture in the USA.
The main activities promoted by LAEF are as follows: the Annual Conference on Education, held since 1975, the celebration of the Portuguese Day, since 1966, the awarding of scholarships for university students, also since 1966, and the organisation of a summer course for secondary school students.
The support to Portuguese courses at US universities and the awarding of scholarships for the training of Portuguese teachers in the USA at Portuguese Universities - summer courses - are other activities promoted by the Luso-American Education Foundation.
This year's conference is organised by Diniz Borges. He is a native of Terceira island who teaches Portuguese and is the Honorary Consul of Portugal in Tulare; the latter is home to a significant Azorean community.