The Regional Department for the Communities, of the Presidency of the Regional Government of the Azores, organized the Meeting of Açorianidade (Azorean Way of Life), which took place in several cities of the State of California, West Coast of the United States, (Artesia, San Diego, Tulare, Sacramento, Turlock and San Jose), between April 30 and May 9.

This meeting involved representatives from the Azores and the socio-cultural organizations from the cities where the Azorean communities are more significant. This Meeting had the following objectives:

-        Contribute for the knowledge about the Azores, at a social, political and economical level;

-        Join testimonies about the cultural activities developed in those communities;

-        Provide a closer contact with the new cultural manifestations;

-        Encourage a stronger collaboration between the Azores and the Communities, and vice-versa;

-        Call the attention of the associative work to the cooperation between its own organizations, and show them the advantages of their total participation, rights and duties.

The associative work of all the participant organizations contributed for the fulfilling of the challenge proposed by the Regional Department for the Communities, aiming at a Meeting where all Azorean emigrants and the public experienced ten days of Azorean culture, in different ways, never forgetting the present reality of the archipelago of the Azores.

The meeting consisted in cultural activities, with the demonstration of the maintenance and rescue of the Azorean cultural identity, revealed through the music, gastronomy, traditions and handicraft, showing what is being done for the Azorean culture.