The Institute Camões - Institute for Cooperation and Language, IP, in short Camões, is a public institute, integrated in the indirect administration of the Portuguese State, with administrative and financial autonomy and its own assets, pursuing assignments in the areas of cooperation, teaching and dissemination of the Portuguese language and the promotion of Portuguese culture abroad under the supervision of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Center for Portuguese Language and Culture "Camões Sofia" was inaugurated in November 2013. Its activity aims to implement the policy of dissemination of the Portuguese language and culture in Bulgaria, covering the management of the Portuguese teaching network and the organization of activities both within the Center itself and in partnership with local institutions.
Team:
Anaísa Silva Gordino - Lecturer of Camões, I.P. in Bulgaria & Director of Camões Sofia
Zornitza Stoykova - Scholarship holder of the Program Fernão Mendes Pinto of Camões, I.P., Public Relations of Camões Sofia
Opening hours:Tuesday to Saturday, from 2 pm to 8 pm
Address: Positano 7 street, block 3, 5th floor, Sofia 1000
Tel .: 02/44 84 106 or 0878 654 844
Facebook:Camões Space – Sofia
Web: camoes-sofia.com
Teaching and Certification of Portuguese Language
Since it was inaugurated, the "Camões Sofia" provides courses of Portuguese as a Foreign Language, according to the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. These courses are open to the community in general and take place in a post-work schedule, with registrations and groups organized every semester (in October and March). It is also possible to attend private lessons.
In 2015, began the first Bulgarian course for Portuguese speakers, in order to facilitate the integration of the Portuguese-speaking community (mainly from Portugal and Brazil) in the country.
Since 2017, Portuguese language courses have also been taught to the children of the Portuguese-speaking community, from a heritage-language perspective.
The Portuguese education network currently has universities, primary and secondary schools, public and private ones, in six Bulgarian cities (Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, Burgas, Razgrad and Varna), supported by Camões, I.P. through scholarships and lectures.
"Camões Sofia" is also responsible for the accreditation for students in the EPE (Teaching Portuguese abroad), being a Centre for Evaluation of Portuguese as a Foreign Language (CAPLE), where it is possible to carry out official examinations of PLE, which are internationally recognized – the periods of exams are defined by the University of Lisbon (May, July and November), and interested parties must register within the deadlines.
Cultural Activity
One of the central components of the "Camões Sofia" action is the scheduling and organizing of cultural events, in close coordination with the Portuguese Embassy in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian and Portuguese institutional partners, covering diverse areas of activity and a wide range of Bulgarian regions.
Among the cultural events in Bulgaria can be mentioned: the Portuguese Film Festival in Sofia; the Portuguese Culture Week in cities such as Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas; concerts of fado, with internationally recognized names (such as Mariza, Ana Moura, Cristina Branco, among others), as well as jazz and classical music; the European Day of Languages; the Night of Literature; the participation of Portuguese authors in the International Book Fair of Sofia.
The focus on the dissemination of Portuguese art and heritage has also been constant, with exhibitions and conferences in the field of contemporary Portuguese architecture and photography.
There are also various activities in the Center's space, from film projections to book presentations, through workshops in areas as varied as gastronomy or tiles.
"Camões Sofia" has its own library where readers can find books in Portuguese from classic and contemporary authors, books translated from Portuguese to Bulgarian, manuals, grammar books, dictionaries, and exercise books of the Portuguese language, films and music.
