In New York, Sílvia Curado, a Portuguese national and one of the driving forces behind the initiative, explained that “PORTUGUESSES” emerged from a shared desire to “make things happen” and a belief in the extraordinary potential of collaboration between those in and outside Portugal to create a positive impact on the country.
“Throughout my career outside Portugal, I have invariably witnessed an impressive – I would even say uncommon – willingness among Portuguese expatriates to contribute to the country in some way. There is a very strong emotional connection of the diaspora to Portugal,” stated the researcher and Director of Research at New York University.
“There is a noticeable strong and genuine desire among our diaspora to contribute more to Portugal, even among those who left more recently. The will to ‘give back’ to the country is, I dare say, much more pronounced than what I observe among other countries’ diasporas,” she said.
To leverage this will and potential, the group launched “PORTUGUESSES,” a platform for active listening, gathering, and shared vision. On a dedicated website, participants are encouraged to engage by completing an anonymous online survey named “Bússola.”
In this survey, Portuguese people – both in and out of Portugal – are asked to share ideas, visions, success stories, measures, approaches, and successful practices experienced abroad by the Portuguese diaspora that could be replicated or adapted nationally.
In a second phase, after gathering potential contributions and analyzing the data, the aim is to turn these ideas into concrete projects and possibly serve as a foundation for public policy development, explained Sílvia Curado.
“We want to use the data collected through the ‘Bússola’ not only to identify innovative ideas but also to understand the trajectory of our diaspora and their motivation to explore new worlds and/or return to Portugal,” she added in New York.
Although the questionnaire is anonymous, all participants will have the opportunity to stay connected with the “PORTUGUESSES” network.
“We want to promote real, concrete, and transformative changes,” she emphasized.
Sílvia Curado is also part of the Portuguese Diaspora Council, which brings together 309 Portuguese advisers worldwide, across 42 countries.
While the objectives of “PORTUGUESSES” and the Diaspora Council are closely aligned, especially in their desire to leverage the diaspora as an asset for Portugal, the project launched this week stands out for being accessible to all Portuguese people both inside and outside Portugal.
“Everyone can share their voice and ideas and remain involved in the implementation,” she highlighted.
In addition to Sílvia Curado, the “PORTUGUESSES” team currently includes Daniel Guedelha, founder and CEO of GenH based in Basel, Switzerland; Filipa Saraiva, a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology of Law at the University of Coimbra; Hélder Romão, partner at DSR in Lisbon, and Pedro Góis, a sociologist and university professor at the University of Coimbra.
Besides urging the completion of the survey and registration on the “PORTUGUESSES” mailing list, Sílvia Curado encourages Portuguese people to spread the word about this project and inspire others to join this community “that dreams, believes, and wants to make things happen.”
“We want to listen to those who stayed in Portugal and those who left but never stopped belonging. We want the diaspora to unite with those who stayed, because we believe Portugal has everything to gain when it opens up to the world and listens to its own,” the organization advocated at the initiative’s launch.
“We invite everyone who wishes to contribute: with ideas, time, talent, knowledge, networks, or simply presence, whether physical or emotional. We believe that together — diaspora and residents — we can redesign paths of hope, collaboration, and impact,” it concluded.
