The Instituto Camões ( English: ''Camões Institute''), formally, Camões — Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua, I. P. ( English: ''Camões — Institute for Cooperation and Language, Public Institute''), is a Portuguese international institution dedicated to the worldwide promotion of the

Portuguese language Portuguese ( or ) is a Western Romance language of the Indo-European language family originating from the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is the official language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tom� ...

, Portuguese culture, and

international aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Th ...

, on behalf of the

Government of Portugal A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

. Headquartered in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

with centers across five continents, the mission of the Instituto Camões is the promotion of Portugal's language, culture, values, charity, and economy. The institution is named for

Portuguese Renaissance The Portuguese Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in Portugal during the 15th and 16th centuries. Though the movement coincided with the Spanish Renaissance, Spanish and Italian Renaissance, Italian Renaissances, the Portuguese Ren ...

author Luís Vaz de Camões, considered the greatest poet of the

and the

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Originating in the early 20th century as the ''Portuguese Institute for High Culture'', the institution restructured with a greater linguistic focus in 1980, and absorbed the Portuguese Institute for Development Support, Portugal's development aid agency, in 2012. The Instituto Camões exercises institutional autonomy, under the supervision of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the role of co-ordination and execution of external cultural policies of the

Portuguese Government Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

History

The Instituto Camões was named in honour of

Luís de Camões Luís Vaz de Camões (; or 1525 – 10 June 1580), sometimes rendered in English as Camoens or Camoëns ( ), is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of William Shakes ...

, a poet of the

and author of ''

Os Lusíadas ''Os Lusíadas'' (), usually translated as ''The Lusiads'', is a Portuguese epic poem written by Luís Vaz de Camões ( – 1580) and first published in 1572. It is widely regarded as the most important work of Portuguese-language literature ...

'', considered to be the

national epic A national epic is an epic poem or a literary work of epic scope which seeks to or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation—not necessarily a nation state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group wi ...

of Portugal and the Portuguese language. The Instituto Camões head office is headquartered at Seixas Palace, a 19th-century mansion on Marquis of Pombal Square, in

. The institution has its roots in the ''Junta da Educação Nacional'', founded in 1924 to grant scholarships, funds, and grants to foreign universities and institutions that promoted Portuguese

language education Language education refers to the processes and practices of teaching a second language, second or foreign language. Its study reflects interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary approaches, usually including some applied linguistics. There are f ...

. In 1936, the institution's role was expanded to include the promotion of Portuguese culture and

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

, as the Institute for High Culture (''Instituto para a Alta Cultura''). The institution was briefly named the Institute of Portuguese Culture (''Instituto de Cultura Portuguesa''), from 1976 to 1980. In 1980, the institution's mission was refocused on language and renamed the Institute of Portuguese Culture and Language (''Instituto de Cultura e Língua Portuguesa''). The institution took its current name, after the

author Luís Vaz de Camões, in 1992. In 2005, the Instituto Camões received the

Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards (, ), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals ...

for outstanding achievements in communications and the humanities, alongside the UK's

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

, Germany's

Goethe-Institut The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

, France's

Alliance française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

, Spain's

Instituto Cervantes Instituto Cervantes (, the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the most important fi ...

, and Italy's Società Dante Alighieri. In 2012, the Instituto Camões absorbed the Portuguese Institute for Development Support, the development aid agency of the

. Since then, Instituto Camões operates with a wider mission of promoting Portuguese language, culture, and aid across the world.

Structure

Portuguese Language Centers

The Institute's Portuguese Language Centres (''Centros de Língua Portuguesa'' or CLP) aim to promote the Portuguese language as well as co-operation with different countries in the field of education, including those where Portuguese is already spoken. This is in contrast to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, which is only represented in non- Spanish-speaking countries. New centres are presently being established in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and in the headquarters of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

and of the

Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

and in 2005, the towns of Canchungo, Ongoré, Mansôa, Bafatá, Gabú, Buba,

Catió Catió is a city in south-western Guinea-Bissau. It is the capital of Tombali Region. Population 9,217 (2008 est). Catio, along with Canjadude and other camps were besieged by the Portuguese in 1973. Notable people * Abdulai Silá (1958-) - ...

, Bolama, Bubaque, and Quinhamel in Guinea-Bissau to spread the fluency of Portuguese as the

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

in the country.

Portuguese Cultural Centres

The Institute's Portuguese cultural centres (''Centros culturais portugueses'') are centres whose aim is the promotion of cultural relations between Portugal and other countries, including those with which Portugal has strong historical and cultural ties, and where Portuguese is already widely spoken. Like in language centres' counterparts, this is in contrast to

, which is only represented in non- Spanish-speaking countries.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Instituto Camoes Cultural promotion organizations Foreign relations of Portugal Portuguese language 1992 establishments in Portugal Organizations established in 1992

History

Structure

Portuguese Language Centers

Portuguese Cultural Centres

See also

External links