FRESNO, Calif. — July 9, 2025 — For the sixth consecutive year, the Luso-American Education Foundation, through the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) at Fresno State, is bringing together scholars, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, and cultural activists from around the globe for the highly anticipated international online conference: “Global Village: Portugal’s Diaspora as a Fountain of Culture, Memory, Connectivity, and Innovation.” Co-chaired by Diniz Borges (Director of PBBI) and José Luís da Silva (poet and retired educator), this year’s gathering will take place virtually from October 2 to 4, 2025, reaffirming its commitment to inclusivity, accessibility, and transnational dialogue.

This year also marks the 49th Annual Conference of the Luso-American Education Foundation (LAEF). This tradition began in the 1970s as an initiative to bring together bilingual education professionals committed to fostering Portuguese language and cultural instruction in California and beyond. Over the decades, the LAEF conference has evolved into a space for deep reflection and concrete action on the Portuguese-American experience—past, present, and future.

Rooted in a compelling mission and vision, the conference is more than an academic meeting—it is a vibrant platform for discovery and exchange. As the mission statement outlines:

“Our goal is to celebrate and explore the rich cultural, historical, and social contributions of the Portuguese diaspora; foster meaningful dialogue, research, and collaboration; and illuminate the enduring threads of connection within a global tapestry.”

With eyes toward the future, the vision further affirms:

“The conference aims to create a vibrant and inclusive platform that bridges communities, academics, and cultural practitioners, advancing a global appreciation of the Portuguese diaspora. By fostering unity and collaboration, it aspires to strengthen connections across borders and generations, ensuring that the legacy of the Portuguese diaspora is preserved, celebrated, and integrated into a shared vision for a multicultural and interconnected future.”

This year’s program features more than twenty panels and roundtables exploring key themes across four main areas: Culture & Memory, Innovation & Interconnectedness, Connection & Collaboration, and Diversity & Inclusion.

Highlights from the Culture & Memory track include panels such as “Echoes Across Oceans: Cultural Memory in the Portuguese Diaspora,” which investigates how identity is transmitted across continents, and “Songs, Stories, Saudade,” exploring literature, film, and music as vessels of diasporic belonging. Traditional celebrations take center stage in “Festivals Without Borders,” which revisits how Holy Ghost Festas and other cultural rituals have been reinvented globally.

A particularly meaningful feature of this year’s conference is a special presentation dedicated to Luís Vaz de Camões, commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Portugal’s greatest poet. Camões, whose epic Os Lusíadas gave voice to the Portuguese navigational and migratory spirit, remains a towering cultural figure who continues to inspire Portuguese communities worldwide. The presentation will explore how his poetic vision of homeland, voyage, exile, and longing continues to resonate with diasporic communities who, like Camões himself, have traversed oceans while carrying language, memory, and hope.

In the Innovation & Interconnectedness section, panels such as “Digital Saudade: Technology and the Preservation of Diasporic Identity” and “Entrepreneurship Across Borders” reflect a bold vision of the diaspora as a site of creativity and technological innovation. Another timely session, “Remittance of Ideas,” looks beyond financial remittances to explore how ideas, values, and knowledge flow between Portugal and its global communities.

The Connection & Collaboration panels include “Bridges Across the Atlantic” and “Diaspora Diplomacy,” which emphasize cross-generational ties and the diaspora’s role in shaping global relations. A poignant conversation titled “Archipelagos of Identity” examines the experience of island-origin communities, such as those from the Azores and Madeira, navigating migration and memory.

Panels under the Diversity & Inclusion theme reflect the evolving complexity of Lusophone identities. “Many Voices, One Heritage” sheds light on Afro-Portuguese, Luso-Asian, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ narratives. At the same time, “Reclaiming Narratives” challenges colonial legacies and encourages a decolonial reevaluation of what it means to be Portuguese in the world.

Adding further richness, the program features a series of dynamic roundtables and community conversations, including:

  • “Language, Legacy, and the Next Generation,” focused on preserving Portuguese among youth;
  • “Women of the Portuguese Diaspora: Voices of Change and Continuity,” elevates the essential role of women in cultural transmission and activism;
  • and “Diaspora Futures: What Comes Next?”—a look ahead at policy, innovation, and sustainability for the next half-century of diasporic engagement.

“In a world that is both more connected and more fragmented than ever, the Portuguese diaspora offers a powerful example of resilience, adaptability, and solidarity,” said co-chair Diniz Borges. “This conference is a mirror and a bridge—reflecting who we are, and helping us imagine who we can become, together.”

Beyond the conference, the Luso-American Education Foundation remains a driving force in the Portuguese-American community through its longstanding commitment to educational advancement, cultural preservation, and youth empowerment. For decades, LAEF has awarded scholarships and grants to students of Portuguese descent, hosted cultural summer camps for young people, organized commemorations of the Day of Portugal, and supported numerous conferences, publications, and community projects that nurture the language, identity, and pride of generations.

Working together with LAEF and other cultural organizations, the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) at Fresno State has become a leading academic and cultural center for the study and celebration of the Portuguese-American and broader Lusophone experience. Through its dynamic platforms—including the online news services Novidades (the islands and the diaspora) and the platform and digital magazine Filamentos, dedicated to literature, poetry, and diasporic creativity—PBBI engages with both academic and community audiences. Through Bruma Publications, PBBI also plays a central role in promoting translations that connect generations across the Atlantic. As articulated in its mission, the institute seeks “to preserve and promote Portuguese-American culture, language, and history, while fostering academic research and public engagement.” Its vision goes further, imagining “a world where the stories of the Portuguese in the United States are integral to the broader American narrative—where culture, heritage, and memory are honored as bridges between communities and generations.”

With dozens of expected participants representing countries worldwide, “Global Village” continues to position the LAEF and the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute as leaders in building a more connected and culturally enriched future, rooted in the enduring strength of the Portuguese diaspora.

The conference is free and open to the public.