The Regional Director for Communities highlighted the efforts undertaken by the Centre for Portuguese Studies and Culture, the Organising Commission of the Holy Spirit Festivities of New England and the House of the Azores of New England in the promotion and dissemination of Portuguese and Azorean cultural values in the state of Massachusetts.

In the context of his visit to Azorean communities in the states of California and Massachusetts, Paulo Teves met on Monday with the director of the Centre for Portuguese Studies and Culture at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth - an institution dedicated to the study of Portuguese language, literature and culture as well as to the development of teaching materials to aid teachers in different educational levels.

The Regional Director for Communities stressed the relevance of the work carried out by this institution in the promotion of Portuguese language and the support to the dissemination of Azorean writers.

"The Centre for Portuguese Studies and Culture at the University of Massachusetts plays a key role in the promotion and dissemination of our language and culture in the USA. Likewise, this institution has contributed to enhance the visibility of Azorean literature with the inclusion of several Azorean writers in the academic curriculum," said Paulo Teves.

On the same day, the Regional Director for Communities met with the newly elected Commission of Holy Spirit Festivities in Fall River. The government official conveyed his satisfaction "for the outstanding contribution of these festivities in the promotion of 'Azoreanity'," recalling that this event attracts "thousands of Azoreans and their descendants from several U.S. states and Canadian provinces. For this reason, the Azorean Government has developed partnerships with the organising commission of these festivities.

During a meeting with the board of the House of the Azores of New England, the Regional Director praised the "dynamic role played by this institution in the promotion of the Autonomous Region of the Azores" among the emigrant communities in the State of Massachusetts. Moreover, he also emphasised its "efforts to defend the interests of the Azorean emigrant communities."

Today, the last day of HIS travel to the USA, Paulo Teves will meet with the board of Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers - a partner of the Government of the Azores, through the Regional Directorate for Communities, under the International Network of Social Work Organisations.