According to the Portugal Brazil 200 years Association (APBRA), the event will count on the participation of important names of culture and literature from Portuguese-speaking countries, among them the Brazilian philosopher and writer Djamila Ribeiro, who will be lecturing in Portugal for the first time.
The city of Coimbra will host, from June 23rd to July 2nd, the first Cycle of Language Citizenship, promoted by APBRA, in partnership with Coimbra City Hall.
Debates, lectures, conversations, performances, and the presentation of works are part of a 10-day program that will be spread across three venues in Coimbra: Casa da Escrita, Praça do Comércio, and Casa da Cidadania da Língua.
In a press release sent to the Lusa agency, APBRA informed that the city will also host the Portuguese ambassador in Brasília, Luís Faro Ramos, and personalities such as Yara Nakhanda Monteiro, Luso-Angolan writer; Laurentino Gomes, Brazilian historian; Rafael Gallo, Saramago prize winner; Andrea Nogueira, SESC São Paulo manager; Ricardo Barberena, PUCRS Culture Institute director, among others.
“The initiative is the first step towards the inauguration of the Language Citizenship House, which will take place in Coimbra in October 2023. With debates, lectures and performances, the Ciclo Cidadania da Língua serves as an introduction to an ambitious project and will promote reflection at a time when the Portuguese language is gaining more and more international space,” he justified.
According to the organization, there is an urgent need for a debate on “how culture becomes a mark of territory, the expansion of cultural programming in Portuguese, the place of speech, the transits between art and literature, the challenges of the new citizenship, and access to education.
“In addition, the event addresses the creation of an international publishing market and the future of Portuguese language literature.”
According to APBRA, holding the event in Coimbra will reinforce and relaunch the importance of the city as one of the epicenters of the Portuguese language.
“APBRA, in partnership with the Coimbra Book Fair, seeks to promote reflection and dialogue on some of the main current issues, the strengthening of culture and literature from Portuguese-speaking countries,” he concluded.
APBRA is a non-governmental and non-profit association, dedicated to the development of human and economic relations between Portugal and Brazil, and to the promotion of Portuguese culture and language, through events and partnerships with private and public agents from both countries.
APBRA’s partners are the Federal Senate, the Camões Institute, the University of Coimbra, the Municipality of Coimbra, the State of Minas Gerais, the Portuguese Ministry of Culture, among other organizations and companies.
