The
Instituto Camoes
(
English:
Camoes Institute
), formally,
Camoes ? Instituto da Cooperacao e da Lingua, I. P.
(
English:
Camoes ? Institute for Cooperation and Language, Public Institute
), is a
Portuguese
international institution dedicated to the worldwide promotion of the
Portuguese language
,
Portuguese culture
, and
international aid
, on behalf of the
Government of Portugal
. Headquartered in
Lisbon
with centers across five continents, the mission of the Instituto Camoes is the promotion of Portugal's language, culture, values, charity, and economy. The institution is named for
Portuguese Renaissance
author
Luis Vaz de Camoes
, considered the greatest poet of the
Portuguese language
and the
national poet
of
Portugal
.
Originating in the early 20th century as the
Portuguese Institute for High Culture
, the institution restructured with a greater linguistic focus in 1980, and absorbed the
Portuguese Institute for Development Support
, Portugal's
development aid agency
, in 2012. The Instituto Camoes exercises institutional autonomy, under the supervision of the
Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
, with the role of co-ordination and execution of external cultural policies of the
Portuguese Government
.
History
[
edit
]
The Instituto Camoes was named in honour of
Luis de Camoes
, a poet of the
Portuguese Renaissance
and author of
Os Lusiadas
, considered to be the
national epic
of Portugal and the Portuguese language. The Instituto Camoes head office is headquartered at Seixas Palace, a 19th-century mansion on
Marquis of Pombal Square
, in
Lisbon
,
Portugal
.
The institution has its roots in the
Junta da Educacao Nacional
, founded in 1924 to grant scholarships, funds, and grants to foreign universities and institutions that promoted Portuguese
language education
.
In 1936, the institution's role was expanded to include the promotion of
Portuguese culture
and
arts
, as the Institute for High Culture (
Instituto para a Alta Cultura
). The institution was briefly named the Institute of Portuguese Culture (
Instituto de Cultura Portuguesa
), from 1976 to 1980.
In 1980, the institution's mission was refocused on language and renamed the Institute of Portuguese Culture and Language (
Instituto de Cultura e Lingua Portuguesa
). The institution took its current name, after the
Portuguese Renaissance
author Luis Vaz de Camoes, in 1992.
In 2005, the Instituto Camoes received the
Prince of Asturias Award
for outstanding achievements in communications and the humanities, alongside the UK's
British Council
, Germany's
Goethe-Institut
, France's
Alliance francaise
, Spain's
Instituto Cervantes
, and Italy's
Societa Dante Alighieri
.
In 2012, the Instituto Camoes absorbed the
Portuguese Institute for Development Support
, the
development aid agency
of the
Government of Portugal
. Since then, Instituto Camoes operates with a wider mission of promoting Portuguese language, culture, and aid across the world.
Structure
[
edit
]
Portuguese Language Centers
[
edit
]
The Institute's Portuguese Language Centres (
Centros de Lingua Portuguesa
or CLP) aim to promote the Portuguese language as well as co-operation with different countries in the field of education, including those where Portuguese is already spoken. This is in contrast to
Spain
's
Instituto Cervantes
, which is only represented in non-
Spanish-speaking
countries.
New centres are presently being established in
Paris
and in the headquarters of the
African Union
in
Addis Ababa
and of the
Economic Community of West African States
in
Abuja
and in 2005, the towns of
Canchungo
, Ongore,
Mansoa
,
Bafata
,
Gabu
,
Buba
,
Catio
,
Bolama
,
Bubaque
, and
Quinhamel
in Guinea-Bissau to spread the fluency of Portuguese as the
official language
in the country.
Angola
:
Benguela
,
Lubango
, and
Luanda
Argentina
:
Buenos Aires
Austria
:
Vienna
Belgium
:
Antwerp
Brazil
:
Sao Paulo
and
Brasilia
Canada
:
Toronto
Cabo Verde
:
Praia
China
:
Beijing
,
Shanghai
and
Macao
(as
Instituto Portugues do Oriente
)
Croatia
:
Zagreb
Czech Republic
:
Prague
East Timor
:
Dili
(as
Instituto Portugues do Oriente
)
Estonia
:
Tallinn
Ethiopia
:
Addis Ababa
France
:
Lille
,
Lyon
, and
Poitiers
Germany
:
Hamburg
Guinea-Bissau
:
Bissau
Hungary
:
Budapest
India
:
Goa
(as
Instituto Portugues do Oriente
)
Italy
:
Florence
and
Milan
|
Moldova
:
Chisinau
Morocco
:
Casablanca
,
Rabat
Mexico
:
Mexico City
Mozambique
:
Beira
,
Lichinga
,
Maputo
,
Nampula
,
Quelimane
, and
Xai-Xai
Namibia
:
Windhoek
Poland
:
Lublin
Romania
:
Bucharest
,
Cluj-Napoca
, and
Constanta
Sao Tome and Principe
:
Sao Tome
Senegal
:
Dakar
Serbia
:
Belgrade
South Africa
:
Johannesburg
South Korea
:
Pusan
(as
Instituto Portugues do Oriente
)
Spain
:
Barcelona
,
Madrid
,
Caceres
, and
Vigo
Sweden
:
Stockholm
Tunisia
:
Tunis
United Kingdom
:
London
,
Edinburgh
,
Leeds
,
Newcastle
and
Oxford
United States
:
Boston
,
Newark
, and
San Diego
Venezuela
:
Caracas
|
Portuguese Cultural Centres
[
edit
]
The Institute's Portuguese cultural centres (
Centros culturais portugueses
) are centres whose aim is the promotion of cultural relations between Portugal and other countries, including those with which Portugal has strong historical and cultural ties, and where Portuguese is already widely spoken. Like in language centres' counterparts, this is in contrast to
Spain
's
Instituto Cervantes
, which is only represented in non-
Spanish-speaking
countries.
See also
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities
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Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities
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National
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Academics
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