As part of the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of FLAD-Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento (Luso-American Development Foundation), a Sister City summit will be held in Ponta Delgada.

This event will take place on June 25 and 26 at the Teatro Micaelense, and on June 27 at the Aula Magna of the University of the Azores.

Nuno Morais Sarmento, President of FLAD, said in a video at the press conference that the Sister Cities Summit is “part of a vision that reflects a commitment. The vision is that cities are where the greatest number of solutions with a direct impact on people’s lives are being built these days. And that these solutions, and this is the second idea, will always be stronger and perhaps better when developed through dialogue and sharing with other communities. And that is even more important than knowing how to speak, which is often learning how to listen. The importance, therefore, lies in listening closely to those who work most directly with the people. From this vision, we move on to the assumption of a clear commitment: FLAD’s commitment to work closely, consistently, and with a presence in the projects that result from the collaboration we are now strengthening between Portuguese and US cities and municipalities. And if we had this vision and the willingness to make this commitment, this Summit represents the first step in realizing this path.

“It is in memory of the diaspora that we reaffirm today our commitment to all those who, together with us, want to build or strengthen more bridges. Bridges between Portugal and the United States, but above all, bridges between people, between those on this side and those on the other side who, after all, share a common origin and so often a common vision,” concluded Nuno Morais Sarmento.

The President of the Regional Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, also in a video message, welcomed “FLAD’s initiative and the Azores Government’s strong involvement in this event. We welcome all those from mainland Portugal, Madeira, and the United States of America who are traveling here to the Azores, to the city of Ponta Delgada, for this summit: “and the coordination of strategies for economic, social, and cultural relations between our two countries.“ Leonor Durão Barroso, director of transatlantic relations at FLAD, emphasized that the organization sought to ensure that ”the program could meet those objectives and could, in fact, give substance to those objectives. And so, we have created this program with two main elements: creating spaces for dialogue and debate, both formal and informal, which will be present throughout the program. Additionally, we will create some keynote address moments, where the challenges of the cities will be discussed, so that all participants can take something away and move cooperation forward from here. The transatlantic relationship will also be debated and discussed, as it should be, because that is what unites us and brought us to this meeting and made us want to hold this Sister Cities Summit,“ adding that this is ”more than a conference, it is a meeting between cities.

José Andrade, Regional Director of Communities, said that the Sister Cities Summit is “a joint initiative and a shared organization of FLAD and the Government of the Azores. FLAD is including this initiative as part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, and the Government of the Azores is also involved, with the high patronage of the President of the Government and logistical support from the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, through the Regional Directorate for Communities.

“The main objective of our joint organization is to recognize and value the importance of relations between Portugal and the United States of America. And, in this context, to highlight the important role that local authorities also play in these bilateral relations. We all know that the sister city process makes a significant contribution to relations, cooperation, and exchange between the two homes of the Atlantic. And, in fact, there have been good practices that can and should be shared in general approaches between cities in Portugal and cities in the United States,” said the Regional Director of Communities.

In Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.