The University of Macau (UM) recently held a video conference to discuss the preparation work for the First International Forum on Chinese and Portuguese Languages. The event attracted over 30 Portuguese and Chinese language teachers and librarians from more than ten universities in Portuguese-speaking countries and mainland China, who provided various suggestions for the upcoming forum.
Participants in the meeting included faculty members, students, and scholars from member universities of the Academic Library Alliance between the Macao SAR and the Portuguese Speaking Countries (ABAMAPLP) and the Academic Library Alliance for Portuguese Language Resources between the Macao SAR and the Mainland of China (ABAMACHINA), namely Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Communication University of China, Shandong University, Shanghai International Studies University, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, University of Lisbon, University of Minho, University of São Paulo, and the State University of Campinas.
In his welcome speech, UM Vice Rector Rui Martins said that this video conference was the first cooperation between ABAMAPLP and ABAMACHINA. As a platform for the planning of the First International Forum on Chinese and Portuguese Languages, the meeting was a meaningful step to deepen the cooperation between the two alliances in the consolidation of Portuguese language resources and to promote teaching and research in Portuguese and Chinese languages. He expressed hope that the participants would provide more suggestions for the upcoming forum.
The meeting was held in three parallel sessions, namely Teaching Portuguese as a Foreign Language (hosted by Maria Grosso and Ana Nunes, visiting professor and associate professor in the Department of Portuguese of UM, respectively), Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language under the New Situation: Current Situation and Countermeasures (hosted by Chen Zhong, deputy director of the Confucius Institute of UM), and the Portuguese Language Resource Platform of the Academic Libraries Alliance (hosted by Zhang Jing, assistant professor in the Department of Portuguese of UM). The meeting was conducted in Chinese and Portuguese with simultaneous interpretation.