Welcome to the page of the State Visit to Cape Verde

Chancellor of the University of Cape Verde,
Ministers for Culture of Portugal and Cape Verde,
Professors,
Students,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I begin by warmly congratulating the organizers of this Conference on Portuguese Language and Cultural Dialogue, and particularly this hosting institution, the University of Cape Verde.

I equally wish to greet all the participants, to whom is owed the success of the work carried out and their contribution for the valuing of our common language.

Before such a qualified assembly it will certainly not be necessary to emphasize the cultural relevance of Portuguese.

We are all aware of the historical role achieved by the Portuguese language at the beginning of the modern era, as a vehicle of communication between peoples and civilizations that, until then, barely knew each other.

We are all aware of the wealth of the literary heritage that throughout the centuries has been built in that which we call the language of Camões, but which today is also that of so many authors from African countries, or from East Timor, where it unfolds into new and original literatures.

But language is not just a cultural expression; language is also a political issue. In the global world in which we live, more important than the geographical borders are the material values that determine the identity, the cohesion and the influence of the political areas. Language assumes, in this context, a strategic importance and as such it should be regarded by politicians.

Portuguese is currently the official language of eight States, spread over four continents, and continues being used by numerous emigrant communities. With 220 million speakers, it is the fifth language spoken throughout the world, enjoying the statute of official language in relevant international institutions, such as the European Union, the African Union or Mercosur. If we add to this the prestige it enjoys in many regions, both in Africa and in Asia, where Portuguese based Creole languages exist, we must conclude that we are facing a huge potential.

How to take advantage and profit from such a potential? This issue has dominated, in the last few decades, many meetings between representatives of States where Portuguese is the official language, both in scientific and in political terms.

It must be recognized that there have been many advances, especially since CPLP was created. In spite of the difference that may exist in the linguistic situation in each of our countries, the interest we all have in preserving and exploiting the potentialities which are within our grasp, due to the fact that we share the same language, is nowadays unquestionable. The objectives drawn and the commitments assumed in the summits of Heads of State and of Government of CPLP are proofs that we stand together in this project and are ready to honour the responsibilities we have taken on.

What thus remains is to pass from words to acts.

A language is promoted by widening the numbers of those that speak it in their day-to-day lives, of those that require it for their business or for their profession, of those that require access to the cultural, scientific, or even leisure production, which may be available in it.

Our first task in this issue is thus to strengthen the teaching of Portuguese, whether it be the mother language or whether it be the second language or even the first foreign language.

To provide all our countrymen with the learning of a language such as Portuguese means, amongst other matters, to open up a world of possibilities at work, contributing towards the development of social mobility and to combat inequalities.

In addition to this it is necessary that we continue to invest in the teaching of Portuguese as a foreign language. Portuguese is, in effect, a «global» language, a language already spoken in several geo-strategic areas, thus justifying that many students or professional people show interest in learning it. The growing interest that it is awakening in the most varied countries is quite notable, and a result, also, of the increased regional and international weight that is being assumed by several countries where Portuguese is the official language. .

The scarcity of human resources which would allow us to duly answer the needs comprised by teaching Portuguese, either as a national or as a foreign language, is an issue that requires a joint and reciprocal effort within the framework of CPLP.

But the promotion of the Portuguese language is not just its teaching. It is also the science produced in it, by the companies and the trading relationships which preferentially use it, by the interest and the diversity of cultures that communicate through it and by the literatures expressed in it.

It is for this reason that the tightening of the relations between the peoples that comprise CPLP is of such importance, such as the approach between Universities and research centres, the stimulus for entrepreneurial and scientific projects, where institutions and persons of several Portuguese speaking countries are associated, the production and disclosure of audiovisual contents with interest for the several countries, the online publication of data bases and other materials that enrich the cyberspace in the Portuguese language.

The greater the connection existing within the diversity that characterizes the vast Portuguese speaking world, the larger will be its volume of scientific and cultural production, and larger yet will consequently be the numbers of those who will feel motivated to learn Portuguese.

All the efforts we can carry out in this sense will be in the interest of our countrymen.

The Action Plan recently approved in Brasilia and that the Heads of State and of Government will be called upon to approve at the next CPLP Summit, in Luanda, will constitute a relevant contribution in that sense. Among its several provisions, I would underline those in respect of the reviving of the extremely important role which is incumbent upon the International Institute of the Portuguese Language, with headquarters in this city and which I will have the opportunity of visiting this afternoon.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The importance assumed by Creole in communication amongst the people of Cape Verde is quite obvious and I do not believe it is a cause for concern. Portuguese is not defined, nor will it ever be defined, in opposition to any other language, idiom or dialect. On the contrary, the wealth of our language, of the Portuguese language, and its prodigious flexibility owes much to its capacity to comprise words and expressions specific to the cultural mosaic of the peoples that speak it.

Culture in the Portuguese language would never be the same without the extraordinary contribution which came to it, and continues to come, from Cape Verde. A contribution which was recently recognized was the award of the Camões Prize to this language artist which is Armando Vieira.

It is in the interest of all of us, who share the Portuguese language that this contribution continues to assert itself with the same richness and strength. For this purpose, the efforts of Cape Verde on behalf of the valuing and diffusion of Portuguese must be decidedly supported, as well as guaranteeing the necessary disclosure to all who express in it their knowledge and their emotions.

I am certain that, together, we will be able to conquer this challenge.

Thank you very much.