The Assembleia Legislativa da Região Autónoma dos Açores has approved a resolution awarding 25 Honorary Azorean Insignias in 2026, recognizing individuals and institutions for their contributions to the development and identity of the Azores.

The resolution, passed in plenary session on April 16, includes six recipients of the Autonomic Insignia of Recognition: Daniel da Ponte, Emanuel Jorge Botelho, Jorge Eduardo de Abreu Pamplona Forjaz, Luís Manuel Arruda, Paulo Henrique Campos Matos, and Ronald Dan Kouchi.

Two individuals—Duarte Manuel Ávila Severino Soares and Maria Teresa Silveira Dias Flor-de-Lima—will receive the Insignia of Professional Merit, while the Insignia of Industrial, Commercial, and Agricultural Merit will be awarded to Jorge Alberto Serpa da Costa Rita, José Guilherme Jorge da Costa, and Primitivo Marques.

The largest group falls under Civic Merit, honoring a broad cross-section of civil society. Among the recipients are the Associação de Pais e Amigos das Crianças Deficientes do Arquipélago dos Açores (APACDAA), the Associação dos Emigrantes Açorianos (AEA), the Associação dos Imigrantes dos PALOP nos Açores (AIPA), the Clube Naval de Ponta Delgada, CRESAÇOR – Cooperativa de Economia Solidária, and the Teatro Micaelense, among others. The distinction will also be awarded posthumously to Edmundo Manuel Pacheco, alongside several individual honorees from across the Region.

The awards will be formally presented during the celebrations of Azores Regional Day, scheduled for May 25 at the Teatro Micaelense in Ponta Delgada. The annual holiday, established in 1980, commemorates Azorean identity and political autonomy, bringing together the Legislative Assembly and the Regional Government in a joint observance.

Beyond ceremony, the insignias serve as a symbolic ledger of public service and civic engagement—marking those whose work, across sectors and generations, continues to shape the social, cultural, and institutional fabric of the Azores.

From Press Release.

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