The Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations will travel to Canada from January 12 to 18, where he will participate in a series of sessions aimed at disseminating the "Azoreans in the World" platform to the Azorean community living in various provinces of that country.
 
Rui Bettencourt, who will be accompanied by the Regional Director for the Communities, Paulo Teves, will begin his visit Sunday, January 12, in the Azorean community of Quebec. He will continue to Manitoba on January 13, Alberta on January 14 and 15, and British Columbia on January 16, ending his visit in Ontario on January 17 and 18. 
 
The meetings, open to the community, will take place at the Houses of the Azores of Ontario, Quebec and Winnipeg as well as at the premises of other associations and institutions.
 
During this visit, the Regional Secretary will also meet with journalists from Ontario's media outlets on January 17 to present the "Azoreans in the World" platform and the Azorean Diaspora Council.
 
The "Azoreans in the World" platform, available at https://acorianosnomundo.azores.gov.pt/, follows the publication of Regional Legislative Decree no.18/2019/A, of August 5, which creates the Azorean Diaspora Council (CDA). It establishes that, besides other members, this entity should include 19 members representing the various geographical areas of the Azorean Diaspora, who will represent and defend the interests of their communities with the Azorean Government.
 
The website allows the registration of all Azoreans living outside the archipelago, who will have the possibility of applying for membership, voting and electing the member from their geographical area of residence.
 
Hence, the Regional Government intends to bring together all Azoreans living outside the Region, involving them in the democratic process of participation and the exercise of active citizenship when deciding on the election of community representative, according to their area of residence.