The 22nd General Assembly of the World Council of Houses of the Azores (CMCA) will take place in Bermuda between October 10 and 12 and will be attended by the Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations, Rui Bettencourt.
 
For three days, 13 Houses of the Azores that make up the World Council, from Canada, the United States, Bermuda, Brazil, Uruguay and Mainland Portugal, will meet to assess the activities developed as well as to analyse the main challenges and problems that the Azorean Diaspora communities currently face.
 
The opening session will be held Thursday, October 10, in Saint George, featuring speeches by Rui Bettencourt and Andrea Moniz-DeSouza, President of the House of the Azores of Bermuda, who will hold the CMCA presidency. The event will be followed by internal working sessions and the presentation of the activities carried out by several Houses of the Azores.
 
On the following day, the Regional Secretary for External Relations will hold a presentation session of the Azorean Diaspora Council (CDA), followed by another internal working session of the CMCA in the afternoon.
 
The last day of the works will be marked by the CMCA merit award ceremony. At this event, the Houses of the Azores will honour several personalities and distinguish the "Azorean Product of Quality 2019."
 
On the occasion, the CMCA flag will also be passed on to the House of the Azores that will take over the presidency of the Council for the 2019/2020 term of office.
 
The works of the 22nd General Assembly of the World Council of Houses of the Azores also will involve, at the Regional Government's invitation, representatives of the political parties holding a parliamentary seat at the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores.
 
Founded in 1997, the World Council of Houses of the Azores comprises the Houses of the Azores of Northern Portugal, Lisbon and Algarve (Mainland Portugal), Winnipeg, Quebec and Ontario (Canada), Hilmar and New England (USA), Bermuda, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), and Uruguay. The Regional Directorate for the Communities is also a member of CMCA General Assembly.
 
The CMCA aims to bring Azorean communities closer as well as to disseminate the Azores, the Azorean people and their culture among the populations of their respective areas of influence, promoting and developing activities that contribute to the affirmation of the Azores and their Diaspora. Furthermore, it also defends the interests of the Region and promotes social, cultural and economic relations between the archipelago and the territories where each institution is established.