The University of British Columbia and Portugal’s Camões Institute Celebrate the Beginning of a New Partnership



Left to right: Janice Stuart, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, pro tem; Dr. Joël Castonguay-Bélanger, Head of the Department of French, Hispanic & Italian Studies; and Marta Cowling, Consul General of Portugal in Vancouver.

On August 23, 2022, in presence of Marta Cowling, Consul General of Portugal in Vancouver, Dr. Janice Steward, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, pro tem, and Dr. Joël Castonguay-Bélanger, Head of the Department of French, Hispanic & Italian Studies (FHIS), UBC signed a new collaboration agreement with the Camões Institute of Language and Cooperation (Camões, I.P.).

Starting in 2023, the Department of French, Hispanic & Italian Studies will benefit from a visiting lectureship in Portuguese Language and Culture co-sponsored by The Camões Institute and the Faculty of Arts. Thanks to this generous support, UBC students will now have new opportunities to experience the richness and diversity of the Portuguese language, and Lusophone literatures and cultures.

In addition to teaching a variety of courses on Portuguese Language, and Lusophone Literatures and Cultures, the new Lecturer will contribute to the department’s cultural activities, advise students interested in studying in Portugal, and help to promote and develop Portuguese Studies at the University as a whole.

This agreement reinforces the department’s longstanding commitment to offer UBC students the possibility to study and appreciate the important role of the Portuguese language worldwide, and promote a better understanding of the Lusophone cultures at a global level.