Society 379
The latest issue of SOCIETY features Portugal as a focus country. It also has interviews with the new Ambassadors of Afghanistan, Ireland and Kazakhstan. Other topics are the countries of the Western Balkans, EU and culture.
The latest issue of SOCIETY features Portugal as a focus country. It also has interviews with the new Ambassadors of Afghanistan, Ireland and Kazakhstan. Other topics are the countries of the Western Balkans, EU and culture.
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SOCIETY<br />
The association started out on the strong international bond formed by<br />
5000 Austrian children – the so called „Caritaskinder“ – who were sent to<br />
Portugal in the 1950s to escape the post-war struggles.<br />
ceably. As far as the restrictions allow<br />
it, we are hoping to resume some<br />
gatherings this summer and reignite<br />
our association.<br />
The founding of the ÖPG dates back<br />
to 1965. Can you give some insight on<br />
its history?<br />
The association started out on the<br />
strong international bond formed by<br />
5000 Austrian children –the so-called<br />
“Caritaskinder” – who were sent<br />
to Portugal in the 1950s to escape<br />
the post-war struggles. They were<br />
granted the possibility to spend some<br />
time with Portuguese host-families,<br />
taking a rest from the fatigues they<br />
experienced at home. As soon as the<br />
situation in Austria was stable again,<br />
those kids were able to return, but<br />
many of them kept close contact with<br />
their “second families” and considered<br />
Portugal to be a part of them. After<br />
gathering informally, they founded<br />
the “Clube dos Pequenos Portugueses<br />
em Viena”, which was renamed<br />
to „Clube dos Amigos de Portugal“<br />
(Friends of Portugal Club) in 1965. In<br />
1978, the name was changed again<br />
to “Österreichisch-Portugiesische<br />
Gesellschaft” (Austrian-Portuguese<br />
Association), the association was<br />
accredited a bilateral statute and<br />
became a member of PaN (Partner of<br />
all Nations). This way, a common place<br />
for countless activities of exchange<br />
and cooperation was born. Up until<br />
now, the ÖPG is an important part of<br />
the everyday lives of the Portuguese<br />
living in Austria, but also of Austrian<br />
citizens and everybody else who has<br />
a special connection to Portugal. The<br />
activities we offer, like conferences,<br />
seminars or social events, make a<br />
noteworthy contribution to spread<br />
the Portuguese culture and further<br />
establish the friendly bonds between<br />
our countries.<br />
What other activities and services<br />
does ÖPG offer?<br />
While we offer many cultural and<br />
social services for our members, most<br />
of our events are also open to the general<br />
public. An especially remarkable<br />
event is a product-fair called “Mercadinho<br />
de Portugal”: on a monthly basis<br />
we invite Austrian companies to our<br />
venue to present their Portuguese<br />
products, allowing our members to<br />
learn about the goods and take some<br />
of them home. We also host special<br />
events, for example on the occasion of<br />
the Eurovision Song Contest, football<br />
matches or national holidays. Another<br />
big attraction are our cultural evenings<br />
with book presentations, movie<br />
nights and other cultural opportunities.<br />
One of our most reputable<br />
services are our language courses,<br />
which many Austrian citizens enjoy.<br />
We are one of the few institutions who<br />
offer courses in European Portuguese<br />
in Vienna, with professional language<br />
instructors teaching levels A1 to C1.<br />
We also offer German “Sprachcoaching”<br />
and a free helpline to assist<br />
our non-German speaking members<br />
with daily tasks, like filling out official<br />
documents and forms. In many of our<br />
activities we work in close contact<br />
with the Portuguese Embassy and its<br />
cultural attaché: We help one another<br />
out in promoting each other’s events<br />
as much as we can and are very<br />
thankful for their financial and bureaucratic<br />
support.<br />
What connects Austria and Portugal<br />
in your opinion?<br />
Even though separated by what used<br />
to be a long geographical distance,<br />
the two countries share an extensive<br />
history as well as very similar values.<br />
Our countries have roughly the same<br />
size and number of inhabitants;<br />
Portugal has an Atlantic worldview,<br />
Austria a Central-European one. While<br />
Portugal can learn a lot from the Austrian<br />
governance systems, our shared<br />
mentality of innovation and progress<br />
can help Austria in many other fields,<br />
like scientific research and tourism.<br />
Inside the rooms of the Austrian-Portuguese Association in Piaristengasse in Vienna‘s Josefstadt<br />
PORTUGAL<br />
041