Hundreds of initiatives in the communities abroad to commemorate the 10th of June

Several hundreds of activities scheduled around the world, two dozen members of Government in direct contact with the Portuguese-speaking communities spread throughout the four corners of the globe and the virtual consulate, that will start operating to make life easier for the Portuguese people who live abroad, giving them access to different services. This is how Portugal Day, the Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities will be celebrated this year, the official start of which was on Monday [the 5th] with the President’s State Visit to South Africa.

Together with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of National Defence, and the Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will be celebrating Portugal Day outside Portugal, as usual, with one of the largest communities abroad – it is estimated that more than 300 thousand Portuguese and Portuguese descendants reside on South African soil. 

On national soil, on Saturday 10 June, the celebrations will be in Peso da Régua, where the President and the Prime Minister will be.

22 members of Government in the communities abroad

In addition to the Prime Minister António Costa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs João Gomes Cravinho and the Minister of National Defence Helena Carreiras, who will commemorate Portugal Day in South Africa, the Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities, Paulo Cafôfo, will remain on the African continent to celebrate with the Portuguese community in Namibia Portuguese culture and language and "Portugality" as drivers of inspiration and projecting Portugal in the world.

Four other members of Government will be in Africa: the Minister of Culture Pedro Adão e Silva, the Minister of Environment and Climate Action Duarte Cordeiro, the Minister of Territorial Cohesion Ana Abrunhosa, and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Maria do Céu Antunes who, will join the Portuguese and Portuguese descendants, respectively in Mozambique, Cape Verde, Angola, and São Tomé e Príncipe, enhancing the Community of Portuguese-Speaking countries where around 240 million Portuguese speakers live.

The Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, André Moz Caldas will be in Macau, on the Asian continent, yet where Portuguese is also the official language, whereas the Secretary of State for Social Security, Gabriel Bastos, will be in Oceania, specifically in Australia, as there is a Portuguese person in every corner of the world.

Seven members of Government will be on the American continent. In North America, the Minister of Justice Catarina Sarmento e Castro will celebrate Portugal Day with the Portuguese and Portuguese descendants who live in Canada, whereas the Secretary of State for European Affairs Tiago Antunes and the Secretary of State for Inclusion Ana Sofia Antunes will be in the US with two of the most expressive Portuguese communities abroad in San Francisco and Newark, respectively.

The Minister of Home Affairs José Luís Carneiro will be in Latin America to celebrate with the large Portuguese community in Venezuela. The Minister of the Presidency Mariana Vieira da Silva will celebrate the 10th in Argentina. The Secretary of State Assistant to the Prime Minister António Mendonça Mendes and the Secretary of State for Urban Mobility Jorge Delgado will be in Brazil and Colombia, respectively.

Closer-by, in neighbouring Spain, we will have the Minister of Economy and Maritime Affairs António Costa Silva, with the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education Elvira Fortunato in France. In Belgium we will have the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Administrative Modernisation Mário Campolargo, while next door, the Secretary of State for Tax Affairs Nuno Santos Félix will be celebrating Portugal with the Portuguese community in Luxembourg. The Secretary of State for Education António Leite will also be celebrating in Europe with the large community in Switzerland.

First phase of the Virtual Consulate

To mark symbolically the celebrations this year, but above all to make life easier for the Portuguese communities residing abroad, and to help them in accessing consular services, the Virtual Consulate has now been launched. 

This is a tool to bring Public Administration services closer to the Portuguese who are spread throughout the world, making a set of services and information available online that until now could only be found in the consular posts and sections. 

The first phase of the Virtual Consulate, which goes into operation three years prior to what was scheduled, offers nine services.

Celebrating Portugal Day in the World

Keeping up with tradition, the Portuguese diplomatic and consular network signals the Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities with several hundred initiatives, combining own initiatives with those of the local associative movement, which once again comes together to celebrate the date – an endeavour by the local Portuguese-speaking communities which in many cases is backed by the Embassies and Consulates.

Concerts, exhibitions, plays, noting the world of Portuguese artists with films or documentaries, seminars, traditional fairs, reading moments, among others are some of the initiatives scheduled to celebrate the date.

The table with the initiatives envisaged, the map with the locations where the members of Government celebrate this day honouring Portugal, the Portuguese people, language and presence throughout the world, as well as data on the communities abroad and the message from the Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities, Paulo Cafôfo, can be viewed on the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Diplomatic Portal.