The Regional Secretary of the Presidency said on Friday that “the houses of the Azores in Brazil, the United States, Canada and Portugal, which make up more than a dozen, are fundamental pillars, whether in the relation between the Azorean Government and the communities or in the interests of the Region among the host countries, acting as ‘proto consulates’ of these islands.”

André Bradford spoke at the 16th International Metropolis Conference, which took place in Ponta Delgada, at the panel on the “Maintenance of Relations with the Diaspora,” explaining that the “prefix ‘proto’ is used because as the Azores are an Autonomous Region of a State that is constitutionally defined as a unit, its external action is limited to main guidelines of the Republic and, therefore, it does not have the privilege of external representation.”

The government official added that in this context, “the dimension dynamism and credibility” of the Azorean communities within the Portuguese diaspora in North America “are of such relevance that will not be abusive to consider the existence of a tendency to recognise that the relevant status of the Azores and its institutions.”

André Bradford highlighted “the role played by the Houses of the Azores” which we believe that they “are nowadays more active, more qualified and more aware for their role as representatives bodies.”

According to the Regional Secretariat of the Presidency, the Government of the Azores, when developing its activity in the diaspora communities, “has insisted in the definition of a Common Agenda for the Houses of the Azores throughout the world,” adding that this effort is intended to “standardise the activities developed by these organisations by establishing a joint action in the creation of will and willingness among the host counties with regard to issues related to the Azores, including “trade and external investment” in the Azores.

Concerning the relations between the Azorean Government with the institutions from the countries where the Azorean communities reside, André Bradford said that the “gradual development of a institutionalisation regarding the political relations between the Region and the state government bodies,” such as the cases of “California, Massachusetts and Rhode Island,” with which “partnerships and cooperation agreements have already been established in the sectors of common interest.”

In addition to meeting the diversity of the Azorean diaspora in the world, the Government of the Azores “maintains an active public support policy to its initiatives,” which is embodied in “several protocols signed with over one hundred institutions from Brazil, Bermuda, Canada, United States of America and Uruguay in the areas of culture, economy, education and social support.” 

Recalling the regulated line of annual support, designed to finance relevant projects, particularly in the fields of language and culture preservation, André Bradford informed that “in recent years,” the Regional Government has “supported more than two thousand projects in the area of culture, being developed by institutions and individuals from Azorean communities as well as by Azorean citizens, to meet the needs of these communities.”

According to the Regional Secretary, the area of training has been another concern, bearing in mind the fact that “it is a key tool in the dissemination of the Azorean cultural identity as well as in the promotion of the Azores.” In this context, the government has contributed to the “training of over two thousand association leaders, through courses taught in the Azores, so they may enhance their role in the dissemination of the Azorean reality.”

Nevertheless, “emigration is not always a synonym of success,” and, for that reason, the Government of the Azores, without forgetting this harsh reality, “has always given special emphasis to this issue by establishing partnerships with community and international institutions in the area of social support,” concluded André Bradford.