The Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations reiterated the importance of Portuguese language for the promotion of culture and traditions among Azorean emigrant communities, stressing that this is one of the main priorities of the Regional Government.

"The promotion of Azorean culture and traditions in the Diaspora by encouraging the learning of Portuguese is clearly a priority for the Regional Government Portuguese is, without doubt, the greatest vehicle for promoting our culture," Rodrigo Oliveira said, highlighting the work that has been developed in this area, not only through the provision of educational materials and libraries to several schools where Portuguese is taught, but also through the organisation contests with the aim of motivating students to write about the Azores in Portuguese.

Rodrigo Oliveira spoke at the end of a meeting with students attending U.S. and Canadian school who won the contest "Azores: Sea Islands, Peoples and Traditions," an initiative promoted by the Regional Directorate for Communities in partnership with Grupo SATA and the North American Portuguese Teachers Association. This contest intends to "encourage the teaching and learning of Portuguese in both countries as way to maintain the ties of the new generations of Azorean descendants to their roots."

"The visit of this group of students will strengthen these ties, providing them with an opportunity to become better acquainted with Azorean culture and traditions as well as with what the Azores of today are," said the Regional Under Secretary. The government official added these students, aged between 12 and 17, will bring "a little of our culture and our history" when they return home, thus projecting "this important link between the Region and its Diaspora."

The winning group of students consists of Nicole Costa, Samuel Rodrigues, Marisol Peixoto, Jessica Pinto, Sara Serrano and Raquel Gonçalves, who are attending schools on the U.S. East Coast, and Ana Luz Chaves, who attends school in Cambridge, Canada. The students are accompanied by teachers Melissa Medeiros Costa, Helena Maria Gonçalves and Fátima da Ascensão da Câmara Luz.

These youngsters began today a visit to the archipelago that extends to July 27. It includes trips to the islands Terceira and Graciosa in a vast cultural, educational and recreational programme that will allow to learn more about the history and culture of the Azores, the value of the architectural and landscape heritage as well as to enjoy the natural beauty of the islands.

The contest was targeted at students enrolled at the Portuguese community schools in the USA and Canada and public schools belonging to the U.S. and Canadian education system that provide Portuguese language and culture courses.