Society 379

SOCIETY
The association started out on the strong international bond formed by
5000 Austrian children – the so called „Caritaskinder“ – who were sent to
Portugal in the 1950s to escape the post-war struggles.
ceably. As far as the restrictions allow
it, we are hoping to resume some
gatherings this summer and reignite
our association.
The founding of the ÖPG dates back
to 1965. Can you give some insight on
its history?
The association started out on the
strong international bond formed by
5000 Austrian children –the so-called
“Caritaskinder” – who were sent
to Portugal in the 1950s to escape
the post-war struggles. They were
granted the possibility to spend some
time with Portuguese host-families,
taking a rest from the fatigues they
experienced at home. As soon as the
situation in Austria was stable again,
those kids were able to return, but
many of them kept close contact with
their “second families” and considered
Portugal to be a part of them. After
gathering informally, they founded
the “Clube dos Pequenos Portugueses
em Viena”, which was renamed
to „Clube dos Amigos de Portugal“
(Friends of Portugal Club) in 1965. In
1978, the name was changed again
to “Österreichisch-Portugiesische
Gesellschaft” (Austrian-Portuguese
Association), the association was
accredited a bilateral statute and
became a member of PaN (Partner of
all Nations). This way, a common place
for countless activities of exchange
and cooperation was born. Up until
now, the ÖPG is an important part of
the everyday lives of the Portuguese
living in Austria, but also of Austrian
citizens and everybody else who has
a special connection to Portugal. The
activities we offer, like conferences,
seminars or social events, make a
noteworthy contribution to spread
the Portuguese culture and further
establish the friendly bonds between
our countries.
What other activities and services
does ÖPG offer?
While we offer many cultural and
social services for our members, most
of our events are also open to the general
public. An especially remarkable
event is a product-fair called “Mercadinho
de Portugal”: on a monthly basis
we invite Austrian companies to our
venue to present their Portuguese
products, allowing our members to
learn about the goods and take some
of them home. We also host special
events, for example on the occasion of
the Eurovision Song Contest, football
matches or national holidays. Another
big attraction are our cultural evenings
with book presentations, movie
nights and other cultural opportunities.
One of our most reputable
services are our language courses,
which many Austrian citizens enjoy.
We are one of the few institutions who
offer courses in European Portuguese
in Vienna, with professional language
instructors teaching levels A1 to C1.
We also offer German “Sprachcoaching”
and a free helpline to assist
our non-German speaking members
with daily tasks, like filling out official
documents and forms. In many of our
activities we work in close contact
with the Portuguese Embassy and its
cultural attaché: We help one another
out in promoting each other’s events
as much as we can and are very
thankful for their financial and bureaucratic
support.
What connects Austria and Portugal
in your opinion?
Even though separated by what used
to be a long geographical distance,
the two countries share an extensive
history as well as very similar values.
Our countries have roughly the same
size and number of inhabitants;
Portugal has an Atlantic worldview,
Austria a Central-European one. While
Portugal can learn a lot from the Austrian
governance systems, our shared
mentality of innovation and progress
can help Austria in many other fields,
like scientific research and tourism.
Inside the rooms of the Austrian-Portuguese Association in Piaristengasse in Vienna‘s Josefstadt
PORTUGAL
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