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Portuguese language, culture day marked in Lisbon

Xinhua, May 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

Conferences, roundtable discussions, lectures, and games for children were held on Tuesday in Portuguese capital Lisbon to celebrate the Portuguese language and culture day.

The celebration this year comes as Portugal awaits for two countries to ratify an orthographical agreement which aims to unify the Portuguese language among members of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).

Portugal's Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva said during a press conference at the Camoes Institute in Lisbon that the country is "serenely awaiting" the ratification of the orthographical agreement by members of the CPLP, pointing out that the agreement was an "international convention adopted by countries of CPLP."

The orthographical agreement aims to create a unified orthography among countries which belong to the CPLP, namely Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, and East Timor.

The agreement has been ratified by most of the countries except Angola and Mozambique.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who is from Tuesday beginning a four day trip to Mozambique, is expected to relaunch a debate regarding the agreement which came into effect in Portugal in 2009, due to some Portuguese citizens being against the agreement.

The President was among public figures who signed a manifesto against the new agreement in 1991, but is now in favor of the agreement and is writing under the new rules.

The new norms came into effect in May 2009 and became compulsory in Portugal in May last year.

The Portuguese Society of Authors decided not to adapt the new rules due to Brazil and Angola's positions and continued to write officially under the old rules, according to local media.

Portugal is celebrating on Monday the Portuguese language and culture day to value the fact that "the Portuguese language constitutes a historic link and a common legacy as a result of a multisecular interaction," according to the institution.

The day was set in 2009 and events take place in around 58 countries, including Germany, South Africa, Angola and Algeria.

Around 261 million people speak Portuguese in five continents and this number will rise to 380 million, according to the Camoes Institute. Endit