SECOMS and Camões promote training in Portuguese language for communication
So that media professionals in Timor-Leste may transmit reliable information to the public, the Secretary of State for Social Communication signed a cooperation protocol with Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language, from Portugal, for he implementation of the project Language Office for Journalists, with a duration of 3 years, 2016 to 2019. The ceremony took place in the Auditorium of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM), at the Government Palace in Dili on October 27th, 2016.
This project is a continuation of an identical activity – training in Portuguese for Timorese journalists – integrated in the Support Programme to Democratic Governance (2012-2015), in the framework of the Cooperation Delegated in Portugal by the European Union. This programme allows the development of the then acquired knowledge and also including communication technicians from several ministries and the PCM’s translators.
The Secretary of State for Social Communication, Nélio Isaac Sarmento, stressed that "The Portuguese language is, together with Tetum, an official language of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, according to article 13 of the Constitution. Thus, in cooperation with Portugal, it is essential to reduce the shortages experienced in the field of social communications regarding the Portuguese language".
Nélio Isaac stated that the quality of information conveyed through the media, written and digital, is an essential condition for the social and economic development of Timorese society. The training of Communication professionals contributes decisively to this goal, raising their professional skills and knowledge in various fields of knowledge.
In his speech, the Ambassador of Portugal in Timor-Leste, Manuel Gonçalves de Jesus, stated that the aim of the cooperation is to promote the use of Portuguese language by media, supporting the dissemination of well-drafted news which contribute to the protection of the country’s identity and culture.
The Director General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Victor Maia, the National Director for Dissemination of Information, Orlando da Conceição, the Interim Director of the National Direction of Translation, Ana Paula Marques, the Cooperation Attaché of the Embassy of Portugal, Daniela Pereira, directors of the Media and communication technicians from all Ministries and Secretariats of State took part in the ceremony.
