PALCUS to offer cultural immersion experiences in Portugal. Here's the details
FALL RIVER – The Portuguese-American Council of the United States (PALCUS) is gearing up for the official launch of its Heritage Portugal Program, announced the organization’s vice-president Joe Santos on Sunday in Fall River.
Modeled after Birthright Israel - a program that offers educational group trips to Israel for Jewish young adults – the Heritage Portugal Program will invite Portuguese-Americans between the ages of 18 and 35 to take part in a two-week immersion program in Portugal.
“This is not a vacation. This will be a morning until evening program, every day,” stressed Santos, while introducing some of the program’s details during the Great Feast of the Holy Ghost of New England Breakfast held in honor of the Vice-President of the Regional Government of the Azores Artur Lima and the Azorean visiting delegation at Tabacaria Açoreana restaurant, which was sponsored by PALCUS, Rádio Voz do Emigrante and the Great Feast committee.
Santos said the new program will revolve around several elements, including Portuguese culture and roots, the present status of the country, and its future development and opportunities.
The initiative’s ultimate goal is to provide young Portuguese-Americans with opportunities for transformative and immersive shared experiences in Portugal and a foundation for them to continue exploring their Portuguese identity and maintain long-lasting connections to their ancestors’ homeland.
“The impact of this program is a new and reinforced spirit of belonging, relationships, and energy coming out of the sense of our common heritage,” according to PALCUS officials. “Beyond this also will come new ideas, creativity, investment, connectivity, and opportunities for years and generations to come.”
Santos said participants will learn about historical events and places that helped create the country Portugal is today, but great emphasis will be placed on the present and future.
“Think about the nanotechnology laboratory in Braga and what nanotechnology is developing for the Portuguese economy and for the world economy,” he said. “Think about the Champalimaud Cancer Research Center on the banks of the Tagus River in Lisbon and what that means for us… that research for products and services that will help people who are terribly sick is coming out of the banks of the Tagus River. We are looking to educate people in terms of the future and in the process create bridges.”
Santos said PALCUS will start accepting applications for the Heritage Portugal Program in November.
Funded by the PALCUS Endowment Program and annual donations, the new program is expected to be held on an annual basis with a minimum of 10 participants.
Although it’s being planned as a two-week immersion program, allowing for a 10-day formal schedule and three independent days, participants will be able to remain longer periods in Portugal for lengthier language programs or further travel.
In the organization’s website, PALCUS officials say they hope the new program will propel the next generation of Portuguese-Americans “to carry on with their shared heritage in their hands, minds, and hearts.”
“They will have a sense of belonging, a sense of shared community, better carry on our values, and our heritage will live on through them,” they stress.
PALCUS is currently taking donations and suggestions for the new program.
More details about the Heritage Portugal Program will be made available at the PALCUS 25th Annual Leadership Awards Gala to be held Nov. 11 at Hyatt Coral Gables in Florida.
Founded in 1991, PALCUS is a non-partisan, non-profit organization. It is the only national organization advocating for the Portuguese American community. Its executive committee members, directors and members are scattered across the nation, including some in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
For more information about PALCUS and its programs, visit palcus.org
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: PALCUS to offer cultural immersion experiences in Portugal. Here's the details
