PALCUS Annual Conference

PALCUS Hosts Annual Leadership Awards Gala and First Bi-Annual National Conference of the Communities

Leaders From Portuguese Organizations Nationwide Brought Together

for the First Time as a National Community

The Portuguese-American Leadership Council of the United States (PALCUS) is adding to its annual celebration of community leadership.  In addition to hosting the 11^th Annual Leadership Awards Gala on Saturday, September 15^th, 2007, PALCUS will also bring together leaders from Portuguese communities throughout the country to discuss pertinent issues such as cultural identity, Portuguese language teaching in the US, political involvement and economic success in a national forum.  This is the first nation-wide conference to be held in the Portuguese community, and will be held on Friday, September 14th at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, DC.

 “Our Luso-American community continues to face a myriad of significant issues critical to our further development as a national ethnic group.  PALCUS, along with numerous other organizations, is sponsoring this national conference in order to identify, discuss and seek solutions to these issues,” said PALCUS Chairman, John Bento.   “We hope that many of our community leaders throughout the country will join us so that we have a successful and productive forum, and can truly work together for the maintenance of our heritage and betterment of our community.”

The conference and gala will be held simultaneously with the Smithsonian exhibit on Portuguese art, “Encompassing the Globe:  Portugal and the World in the 16th and 17th Centuries.”    A special tour of the exhibit will be organized for conference and gala attendees on the afternoon of Saturday, September 15th, 2007.

This year the gala is co-chaired by Antonio Matinho of Newark, NJ and John Rebello of San Diego, CA.

The Conference is FREE but we would appreciate your registration.(See below)

September 14^th

MORNING: PLENARY SESSIONS

   8:45 AM:         Welcome and About PALCUS – John Bento, PALCUS Chairman

   8:50 AM          Welcome from President of Açores (tentative)

   9:00 AM:         Welcome remarks by Portuguese Ambassador to the United States

   9:15 AM:         Richard Pombo – Importance of Civic Participation and how to organize politically

   9:45 AM:         Q&A

   10:00 AM:       Break

   10:15 AM:       “Voting Patterns in the Portuguese Community”

- Jim McGlinchey, Portuguese-American Citizenship Project

   10:45 AM:       Q&A

  11:00 AM:       Challenges in the Portuguese-American Community

- Onésimo Almeida, professor at Brown University

   11:45 AM:       Q&A

  12:00 PM:        LUNCH – Keynote: George Monteiro, Author

AFTERNOON: PANEL SESSION

   1:30 PM:          “Celebrating Our Successes – Lessons from the Field”

Deolinda Adao – UC Berkeley, California

Dr. Joseph Amaral – Rhode Island Hospital

(Additional panelists to be confirmed)

Moderator: Carlos Machado

  2:45 PM:       Table Discussions: What needs to be done and how do we do it?

(Each table comes up with recommendations on how to address challenges, collaborate nationally, etc.)

   3:00 PM:        Sharing Recommendations

   3:45 PM:        Closing remarks

                        John Bento, Chairman of PALCUS

  4:00 PM:        Conference Ends

At the conference we will hear from prominent Portuguese-Americans about how being Portuguese played a role in their success as well as hold discussions about the critical issues facing our community.  From these discussions we hope to identify key recommendations and action items that can be implemented in each community for the betterment of our future generations. 

Speakers that have been confirmed include:

·         The Honorable Richard Pombo, former US Congressman, California

·         Dr. Onesimo Almeida, Professor, Brown University

·         Mr. Jim McGlinchey, Project Director, Portuguese-American Citizenship Project

·         Mr. George Monteiro, Author

·         Dr. Joseph Amaral, Rhode Island Hospital

·        Professor Deolinda Adao, UC Berkeley

This year’s awardees include:

·         Jose Morais - Philanthropy Leadership Award

·         Antonio Seabra  - Business Leadership Award

·         Nathan Oliveira - Leadership Award  for Art

·         Richard Pombo - Lifetime Achievement Award

The Conference is FREE but we would appreciate your registration.

Two ways to Register for the Conference:

                                         1.  Click here for a form that you can mail or fax
                                                                                or
                                         2. Complete the Following: