Portugal's president and PM urge Luxembourg to expand Portuguese in schools and call emigrants home
President António José Seguro and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro launched the Day of Portugal celebrations in Luxembourg with a joint appeal for emigrants to return and a request to make Portuguese a curricular language in local schools.
A joint front in Luxembourg
President António José Seguro and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro presented a united front during the third day of the presidential visit to Luxembourg, which marks the start of the official Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities celebrations. The two leaders appeared together at the Artikuss Cultural Centre in Sanem, where they were greeted by 150 children singing the national anthem. In a moment that set the tone for the day, an emigrant named Pedro Teixeira asked both men to sign a Portuguese flag. Seguro had already signed the green side, which Teixeira called the "green of hope." Montenegro chose the red side, prompting Seguro to remark, "You see? This way we complete each other," to which the prime minister replied, "That's how it has to be."
Regardless of parties, two men can change Portugal. I stopped believing in politics a long time ago, but I believe two men can make a difference.
Montenegro offered a short guarantee in response: "We are here for that."
A call for the diaspora to return
Both leaders used their speeches to urge Portuguese emigrants and their descendants to consider returning. Montenegro told the assembled community that Portugal "needs all of you" and that the government counts on them for the country's future, whether that future is built in Luxembourg, back in Portugal, or across both countries. Seguro was more direct, stating that Portugal "is a country that wants to receive its own back" — those who emigrated and those born abroad who feel Portugal as part of themselves. He repeated a message he had delivered earlier to young Portuguese in Madrid during his first visit since taking office on 9 March: Portugal is an extraordinary country to live in, and it must also be extraordinary to work in.
Portugal is always open, yes, for holidays, for the beaches, but also to study, to work, to invest, to build a life, if one day you decide to do so.
Portuguese in the Luxembourg curriculum
Seguro revealed he had made a direct appeal to Luxembourg authorities to expand the availability of Portuguese as an optional language in the public school curriculum. He noted that roughly one third of residents in the Grand Duchy are Lusophone and that Portuguese is the second most spoken language at home among public-school students. The president called the measure "decisive for strengthening a dynamic and cohesive community." The teaching network in Luxembourg currently comprises 31 teachers covering nearly 3,000 students from pre-primary to university level.
I left Luxembourg officials a clear appeal: that they expand the availability of Portuguese as an optional language in the curricular programme.
Language as identity and opportunity
Addressing students directly, Seguro described Portuguese as "a key that opens doors all over the world," spoken by 260 million people across four continents. He told children that living between two cultures does not mean having a divided heart but rather "a bigger heart, where two extraordinary countries and peoples fit." Montenegro reinforced the message, calling language a fundamental element for keeping the flame of identity alive and an important asset for broadening horizons. Mónica Bastos, coordinator of Portuguese teaching in the Benelux, stressed that the language carries a dimension of affection, memory and identity beyond its instrumental value.
Our experience on the ground clearly shows that without stability there is no consistency, and without consistency there is no success.
The first joint Day of Portugal
This is the first Day of Portugal celebrated in Luxembourg and the first marked jointly by Seguro and Montenegro since Seguro took office. The president explained his choice of location by saying that seeing the faces of the children in Sanem was "seeing Portugal alive in the centre of Europe" and understanding better than any speech why he chose Luxembourg to celebrate the first Day of Portugal of his mandate. The visit, which began on Friday, concluded on Sunday with the joint appearance of the two highest-ranking Portuguese officials.
