The Azorean Diaspora Council will meet in a plenary session, for the first time, on March 16, next Wednesday, in Ponta Delgada. The meeting will be chaired by the President of the Government of the Azores and is organized by the Vice-Presidency of the Government, through the Regional Directorate for the Communities.
This advisory organ of the Government of the Azores was established in 2019 and elected in 2021, aiming to ensure the participation, cooperation and auscultation of representatives of the Azorean communities spread over the world.
The plenary session takes place at the Palácio da Conceição, at 4 p.m., counting with the presence of 35 members, including the 19 councilors elected by the geographic areas of Bermuda (1), Brasil (5), Canada (5), United States of America (5), Uruguay (1), Portuguese mainland and the Autonomous Region of Madeira (1) and the rest of the world (1).
On the same day, March 16, the Azorean Diaspora Councilors elected by the communities outside the Region will be hosted by the President of the Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, in a greetings ceremony that takes place at the Palácio de Sant’Ana, at midday.
The councilors will be on the islands of Terceira and Faial, on March 15 and 17, respectively, where there are several initiatives scheduled, including a greetings session to the Vice-President of the Government of the Azores, Artur Lima, in Angra do Heroísmo and to the President of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Luís Garcia, in the city of Horta.
The Azorean Diaspora Councilors were elected on the Azores Day, May 24, and took office on the Portuguese Communities Day, June 10, in a virtual ceremony chaired by the President of the Regional Government.
In this ceremony, all councilors were sworn in for a four-year term, namely Alexandre Moniz (Bermuda), Daniel Gonçalves (Rio de Janeiro), Regis Gomes (Rio Grande do Sul), Willian Marques (Santa Catarina), José Jacob (São Paulo), Aristides Bittencourt (other states of Brasil), Eduardo Pinto (British Columbia), Paulo Cabral (Manitoba), Matthew Correia (Ontario), Victor Faria (Quebec) and Carlos Eduardo de Almeida (other provinces of Canada), Zeto Carvalho (California), Rui Baptista (Massachusetts), Márcia Sousa da Ponte (Rhode Island), David Pimentel and Katherine Soares (other states of USA), Gladys Alicia Diaz (Uruguai), Manuela Meneses (Portuguese mainland and the Autonomous Region of Madeira) and Eduardo Borba da Silva (Rest of the World).
This Council is also composed by the Vice-President of the Regional Government, three representatives of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, one representative of the World Council of Houses of the Azores and the regional directors responsible for the areas of immigration and communities, social solidarity, vocational training and employment, culture, tourism and incentives.
The Council includes, as well, one representative of the Association of Municipalities of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, one representative of emigrants’ associations with presence and activity in the Region, one representative of the Directorate General for Consular Affairs and the Portuguese Communities and one representative of the Portuguese Communities Council.
