Between tomorrow and Friday, Ponta Delgada will host a meeting of sister cities from Portugal and the USA to celebrate the relationship between the two countries.

The “SisterCitiesSummit” event is being held as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD).

According to the organization, there are currently approximately 60 twinning agreements between Portugal and the United States.

The “SisterCitiesSummit” kicks off at 2.30pm tomorrow, with the opening of the exhibition “Between the Dove and the Eagle – The Feasts of the Holy Spirit in New England”, by the Carlos Machado Museum, in the lobby of the Teatro Micaelense.

The opening session of the event is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., featuring speeches by the president of FLAD, Nuno Morais Sarmento, and the president of the Regional Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro.

This will be followed at 4 pm by an inaugural conference on “Water and the future of cities”, featuring António Carmona Rodrigues, former Mayor of Lisbon and former Minister of Public Works, currently Chairman of the Board of AdP – Águas de Portugal.

At 5:30 p.m., a diplomatic panel will take place, featuring Francisco Duarte Lopes, Portuguese Ambassador to the USA, and Douglas Koneff, Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Portugal, moderated by Miguel Monjardino, a professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Portuguese Catholic University.

At 7.30pm, there will also be a tribute to the 230th anniversary of the US Consulate.

On Thursday at 9:30 a.m., a cooperation panel on the economy will take place, with the participation of Piedade Lalanda, President of the Economic and Social Council of the Azores.

Another cooperation panel on Education, Science, and Technology is scheduled for 11:15 a.m., with Gui Menezes, Director of OKEANOS – the Sea Science Research Institute of the University of the Azores, as the speaker.

The last cooperation panel, at 3 pm, is dedicated to Society and Culture, with Diniz Borges, Director of the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute at California State University, Fresno, as the speaker.

Rui Marques, Coordinator of RelationalLab, will moderate all three panels.

At 5.30 p.m., the conference “Artificial Intelligence” will be given by Daniela Braga, CEO of Defined AI. The speaker will be introduced by Katherine Soares, president of PALCUS – Portuguese-American Leadership Council.

There will also be a show featuring FADOalado and the Ponta Delgada Light Orchestra at 9:30 pm.

On Friday, at 5pm, the final conference will be given by Durão Barroso, former Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission, and at 6pm, the closing session will take place, with the presence of the presidents of FLAD, the Regional Governmen,t and the Republic.

The Sister Cities Summit between Portugal and the USA is organized by FLAD and the Regional Government, with the high patronage of the President of the Republic.

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.