Library News

To nurture Chinese-Portugese bilingual language professionals and develop an outstanding team of Portuguese language teachers, the University of Macau (UM) on 16 September, 2021 held an online ceremony to sign a cooperation agreement on the establishment of an Academic Library Alliance between Macao Special Administrative Region and Portuguese-speaking Countries.

Initiated by UM and co-founded with 19 well-known universities and academic institutions in Macao and Portuguese-speaking countries, the alliance aims to promote the sharing of resources and information among its member libraries, as well as mutual support and cooperation in education, learning, and academic research.

UM Rector Yonghua Song delivered a speech, in which he said that Portuguese is one of the official languages of Macao and has been a part of Macao's history and cultural identity. As the only public comprehensive university in Macao, UM has always been committed to promoting Portuguese language education. With this year marking its 40th anniversary, the university has the capacity and opportunity to promote the teaching and learning of Portuguese. The alliance will serve as a platform for academic exchange between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, to promote the sharing of Chinese and Portuguese teaching resources and the training of Chinese-Portuguese bilingual professionals.

The alliance is comprised of member institutions in Macao, Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and Timor-Leste. In addition to the signing of the cooperation agreement, the online ceremony also provided information about the alliance’s website, the joint catalogue of Portuguese language resources of member libraries, and teaching resources for Portuguese language teachers.