Georgina Benrós de Mello Opens the Year of the Portuguese Speaking World Series

KENNESAW, Ga. (Aug 31, 2015) — There were more people in the room than available seating for the opening event of the Year of the Portuguese Speaking World series. The Consul-General of Brazil along with the faculty and students of Kennesaw State were waiting to hear Georgina Benrós de Mello, Director General, The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) speak about Trade and Investment in Portuguese speaking nations.

Kennesaw State University has placed an emphasis on global learning. The Year of the Portuguese Speaking World marks the 33rd year that the program has been a part of the global education offered at the University. Students from different departments across the College of Humanities and Social Sciences assist in making each Year Of program unique. The promotional flyers were developed by graphic design students. Each square of the design represents a different Portuguese speaking nation.

As Georgina Benrós de Mello spoke about the economic goals of the CPLP, she also reminded everyone in the audience that a shared language brings people together. The Portuguese language is the most spoken language in the southern hemisphere. In sharing about the strengths and weaknesses of each Portuguese speaking country's economy, the clear underlying message was that the Portuguese language has uniquely shaped the culture of these countries and directly affected the economic opportunities available in the international marketplace.

The CPLP is focused on making partnerships to encourage and inform businesses and universities about the importance of the Portuguese language. Georgina Benrós de Mello concluded the opening lecture of the Year of the Portuguese Speaking World series by thanking Kennesaw State University for being a partner and developing a year-long series to educate the students and community about the importance of the Portuguese language.