The World Council of Houses of the Azores (CMCA), established in 1997, is a body that coordinates the 18 Houses of the Azores spread around the world and meets annually in a general assembly, which is held in an itinerant manner in the different communities.

It is held every four years in the Azores, this year in the town of Velas, on the island of São Jorge, the only one that has not yet hosted the CMCA general assembly.

During the 26th meeting, CMCA awards will be presented, with this year's award being given to Queijo de São Jorge and medals of merit being awarded to three Azorean emigrants in Toronto: António 'Tabico' Câmara (posthumously), Cidália de Sousa and Grinoalda Pavão.

The regional director of Communities, José Andrade, explained to the Lusa news agency that the three honourees, whose names were proposed by the Casa dos Açores de Ontário, which this year presides over the World Council, are personalities who "made a name for themselves in the Azorean community in Toronto" through the functioning and activity of the Casa dos Açores de Ontário.

Referring to the honourees, José Andrade described António ‘Tabico’ Câmara as a "link of popular culture, between the islands of the Azores and the diaspora in Canada".

"An essential promoter of Azorean popular culture in Canada, he also had a restaurant in Toronto with typical Azorean flavours. He was an improviser, a popular singer and a driving force behind Azorean folklore", as well as responsible for bringing the "São Miguel tradition of Lenten pilgrimages" to that country, he added.

In the case of Cidália de Sousa and Grinoalda Pavão, they will be distinguished in recognition of their "lifelong dedication to the activities of the Casa dos Açores in Ontario".

"They have been volunteers and leaders for several decades and are a good example for new generations of dedication to the public cause through the associative movement", highlighted the regional director of Communities.

José Andrade also said that the Azorean Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) intends to "increasingly" expand the worldwide network of Casas dos Açores to other states or provinces of the main countries of Azorean emigration and to other geographies of the "new trends of the Azorean diaspora".

The oldest Casa dos Açores is the one in Lisbon, almost a century old, founded in 1927, and the most recent is the one in the Central region, formalized this year, with headquarters in the city of Coimbra.

At the meeting next weekend, the annual presidency of the CMCA will be transferred from the Casa dos Açores in Ontario, Canada, to its counterpart in New England, in the United States of America.

The opening session on Friday will be attended by the regional secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão, the mayor of Velas, Luís Silveira, the regional director for Communities, José Andrade, and the acting president of the CMCA, Suzanne Cunha, from the Casa dos Açores in Ontario.

The first plenary session of the CMCA will take place on Saturday, with the review of the World Council's regulations, the formal admission of the Casa dos Açores in Espírito Santo, Brazil, and a debate on the main challenges currently facing these institutions.

The closing session will be held on Sunday.