The Online Newsletter of PALCUS

 

• Vice-Chair Katherine Soares Visits Timor-Leste
• PALCUS Hosts Young Reporters Go West in NYC
• Make Portuguese Count™ at Embassy Reception 
• Applications for PALCUS Scholarships now open!
• PALCUS INTERN SPOTLIGHT: Sabrina Brum, awarded Católica Fellowship
• PALCUS at Library of Congress with Poet Ana Luisa Amaral
• PALCUS at Georgetown University: "Democracy and Populism in Southern Europe"
• PALITICUS Podcast: Bernardo Goarmon
• NYPALC Recognizes PALCUS at Annual Gala
• PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: José João Morais
• PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Patricia Fragoso
• PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Conceição Andrade

• Luso Portuguese Grille

Community News:

PALCUS Vice-Chair Katherine Soares visited Timor-Leste as part of an ACYPL (American Council of Young Political Leaders) delegation in early April.

The program was filled with meetings, experiences and activities that explored political, social and cultural themes. Among the many officials they met with while on the ground were J osé Maria Vasconcelos, the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste;  Minister of State, Agio Pereira; J osé Ramos Horta, Former President of Timor-Leste and Xanana Gusmão, Chief Negotiator and Former President of Timor-Leste.

As part of the trip, the members of the delegation were the honored guests at a reception at the US Embassy in Timor-Leste hosted by the US Ambassador Kathleen Fitzpatrick. They also had the opportunity to visit the National Parliament during one of their sessions where they were individually recognized as part of the agenda for that day. As part of the official schedule, Ms. Soares and the other delegates also had the opportunity to climb to the top of the Cristo Rei statue (over 500 steps!), visit the Beloi School, the Resistance Museum, the Heineken Factory and the Cooperative Café Timor plant.  

 

"This was a life changing trip and I consider myself immensely fortunate to have been selected by ACYPL to partake in this experience and it's all due to my work with PALCUS. I met so many great people and am honored to have been able to learn about this young and vibrant nation. The people of Timor-Leste are hungry for growth and development. The dichotomy between a country that clearly struggles with third world issues and the open minded, first world mentality of a population that wants to be a voice at the international  table is incredible to see first hand. During our trip Minister of State, Agio Pereira said that one of the main philosophies of the resistance to Indonesian occupation was 'you can only exist if you belong' and I can honestly say that myself and my fellow delegates feel as though we now belong a little to Timor-Leste, and Timor-Leste now belongs to us in a small, very sentimental and very permanent way." -Katherine Soares, Vice-Chair, PALCUS

Sabrina Brum, Admitted to Graduate  Degree Program at Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Sabrina Brum, a 2018 PALCUS intern in the Summer Study in Portugal Network (SiPN) program sponsored by the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD), has been awarded the Católica Fellowship for Portuguese-American students. She will be pursuing a Master's Degree in International Relations: Security and Defense at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon in the fall of 2019. The CFPA Fellowship is valued at  6333€ per academic year for the duration of the two year program.

"My internship at the MNE in the summer of 2018 through PALCUS was an eye-opening professional and cultural experience. Spending two months living and working in Lisbon made me fall in love with the city and the culture of Portugal and encouraged me to reconnect with my heritage in a much more personal way. The internship gave me the confidence and incentive to return to Lisbon in the fall and I'm excited to see what new insights this opportunity will bring."

Ms. Brum is a 2019 graduate of Rhode Island College with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, majoring in Modern Languages with a concentration in Spanish and minor in Portuguese. A member of the RIC Sigma Chapter of the Phi Lambda Beta National Portuguese Honor Society and the Phi Sigma Iota International Foreign Language Society, she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She is the 2019 recipient of the Nelson A. Guertin Memorial Award in Spanish and the Tegu Polyglot Award (Dept. of Modern Languages). She is of Azorean descent and her hometown is Bristol, Rhode Island and credits her professor of Portuguese at RIC, Dr. Silvia Oliveira with guiding her through the process.

Interview with Bernardo Goarmon

This is the first in a series of PALITICUS episodes in video format  recorded at the Inaugural Portuguese American National Conference in Washington, DC. Today's episode features Bernardo Goarmon of EDP Renewables and the President of Portugal-US Chamber of Commerce.

Watch here

The New York Portuguese-American Leadership Conference (NYPALC) presented PALCUS with a plaque of special recognition for its support of NYPALC and the Portuguese-American community of New York. The presentation was made at the annual Portugal Day Leadership Awards Gala on May 11, 2019 at the Portuguese American Center of Suffolk in New York. 

PALCUS Vice-Chair Katherine Soares received the plaque on behalf of Chair Angela Costa Simões from NYPALC President Isabelle Coelho-Marques.

Congratulations to NYPALC on another successful gala and many thanks for this recognition of the spirit of collaboration between PALCUS and NYPALC. 

Attorney Patricia Cruz Fragoso has been inducted by the Connecticut Bar Foundation as a new Fellow in the James W. Cooper Fellows. The James W. Cooper Fellows nominate outstanding Connecticut lawyers, judges, and teachers of the law to become James W. Cooper Fellows. The Connecticut Bar Foundation then extends invitations to nominees who have been selected by the Fellows Nominating Committee and approved by the Board of Directors.

Congratulations, Patricia!

PALCUS MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: 

CONCEIÇÃO ANDRADE

A bilingual book of three fairy tales for adults and children alike, these stories were told to Conceição by her grandmother, Francisca, when she was a child in the Azores Islands.

The book also includes a discussion of the author's research on fairy tales and folktales. The preface was written by the distinguished Dr. Alzira Silva, who served as the Regional Director of the Communities in the Azores, as well as a Representative in the Regional Assembly of the Azores. Dr. Silva also introduced Conceição and her book at the Azorean book launch . 

Festas de São Jorge 2019

EMIGRAÇÃO MARCA FESTIVIDADES DO PADROEIRO DAS VELAS

O fenómeno da emigração, que marca a história um pouco de todas as ilhas, mas que se fez sentir particularmente na ilha de São Jorge, foi o mote escolhido para as celebrações das Festas de São Jorge 2019, que decorreram em Velas, tendo sido homenageados dois Emigrantes Velenses de duas gerações distintas, sendo estes Germano Matos dos Santos e Nelson Ponta Garça.

MAPS 2019 Awards Gala Raises More Than $200K and 

Honors Outstanding Community Leaders

Please help assess the needs of the Portuguese Community throughout the world by completing this survey entitled "Survey of Portuguese in the World", prepared by the AEP Foundation in conjunction with AICEP and GSECP / GAID. 

  Take the survey here

Contact Information

Email: [email protected]

Website:  www.palcus.org

Phone: 202-466-4664

9255 Center St., Suite 404

Manassas, VA 20110

In order to create a singular voice to advocate  for the Portuguese-American and Luso-American communities at large, the Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States Inc. (PALCUS) was founded in 1991 as a non-partisan, non-profit, organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. 
 
The PALCUS mission is to address domestic and international concerns of the Portuguese-American Community.
 
The Council conducts an expanding program of educational and public affairs activities on issues of interest to the Portuguese-American community and of salience to the Luso-American Relationship.
 
PALCUS is committed to serving the community through increasingly active government relations efforts, the promotion of a greater awareness of ethnic accomplishments and encouraging stronger ties between Portugal and the United States. In this role PALCUS advances the community professionally, politically and culturally while working to ensure that issues directly affecting our community are addressed through our network of government and community leaders.

PALCUS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization under the IRS tax code and  incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia.  Donations are tax deductible to extent allowed by law and will be acknowledged.