The Camões Institute plays a key role in cultural diplomacy in Portugal. This public institute, which is administratively and financially independent, having its own asset base, operates in the fields of culture and teaching. Its mission is to put forward and implement policy proposals for the dissemination and teaching of Portuguese language and culture abroad and to promote Portuguese as a language of international communication. In its European aspects the Camões Institute is a member of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) and EFNIL(European Federation of National Institutions for Language), and develops partnerships for joint action.
The mechanisms for awarding funding for international events were recently changed in line with the November 2010 agreement between the ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture. This agreement established the institutional co-operation and information exchange between the Camões Institute and the Ministry of Culture’s Office of Planning, Strategy, Assessment and International Relations (GPEARI) related to the international promotion of Portuguese culture. It also stated that the financial support by Camões Institute to the presentation of Portuguese artists in foreign countries, which had been interrupted in 2010.
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