The Ambassador of Portugal to the USA, Francisco Duarte Lopes visited this Thursday, January 16, the President of Brigham Young University, C. Shane Reese, and the Director of the Humanities Center and Professor of Portuguese and Spanish, Rex Nielson. The meeting also included a lunch with University faculty and students, as well as a lecture presented by the Ambassador.

Also at this meeting were the Consul General of Portugal in San Francisco, Filipe Ramalheira, the Honorary Consul of Portugal in Utah, Luis Camara Manoel, and the Coordinator of Portuguese Education in the USA, João Caixinha.

Brigham Young University is a private higher education institution. Founded by the Church in 1875, it reflects the values and principles of this religion in its administration, curriculum, and student life. It has about 30,000 students and offers programs in more than 180 different areas. It is recognized for teaching foreign languages, reflecting the missionary focus of the Mormon Church. 131 languages are spoken at BYU, and 64% of its students are bilingual. In addition to the Provo campus, BYU has offices in Rexburg (ID) and Laie (HA). BYU also offers the BYU Pathway Worldwide global program online, which operates in more than 180 countries and the 50 U.S. states, with more than 60,000 college students.

BYU offers a Minor in Portuguese, Majors in Portuguese, Spanish, and Linguistics. It also promotes study abroad programs in Portugal with FLAD. The BYU Center for Latin American Studies also supports cultural projects and events related to the Portuguese language. Between 500 and 600 students are enrolled in approximately 76 subjects per year related to the Portuguese language, culture and history.

According to João Caixinha, Coordinator of Portuguese Teaching in the USA, at Camões, I.P.:

"In November 2021, Camões concluded with FLAD, the University of Utah and Brigham Young University a cooperation protocol for the establishment of the Chair of Portuguese Language and Culture, which has the following lines of research:

Portuguese Literature, History of Portuguese Culture, Promotion of translations, Portuguese-speaking cultures. The funding of this chair is provided jointly by Camões, I.P. and FLAD.

The lecture, which you can watch here, below, was hosted by the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies, and was attended by more than 180 faculty and students, who filled three rooms. The Ambassador focused on topics such as Portugal and the World, Lusophony, Portugal and Europe, transatlantic relations, the role of the Portuguese diaspora, and the economic relations of the USA and Portugal. The meeting also included a question period. The students sought to understand the opportunities and challenges that Portugal faces, including the evolution of artificial intelligence, globalization, and national and international political trends in an increasingly contentious context.

- Adapted from an article by João Caixinha, Director of the Camões Institute for Cooperation and Language