Some of our books are now available at the Ka-ho village , Coloane, a project from the Association of rehabilitation of Drug Abuser´s of Macau (ARTM).

On 30 April, the book “Portraits of Luso-Asians of Myanmar”, by João Palla Martins, was launched. The book includes texts by Dr. João Laurentino Neves (Instituto Camões) and Fr. Peter Sein Hlang Oo (Diocese of Mandalay), gathering about 70 images of faces captured by the author from the Portuguese-descendant communities of Myanmar.

The book is published by the International Institute of Macau (IIM) and sponsored by Camões IP, this is the second number in the collection of Portuguese-Asian Portraits, after the album related to Macau published in 2020. Two exhibitions on the subject were also held in 2019: in the gallery of the University of Aveiro, integrated in the II International Congress “Intercultural Dialogues Portugal-China” and, later, in the gallery of the University of Macau. Since 2017, the architect João Palla Martins made portrait photographs of the Luso-Asian communities. The photographs are accompanied by theoretical or scientific essays by authors invited to reflect on topics such as identity, miscegenation and memory.

The session included presentations by the author, João Laurentino Neves, member of the Board of Directors of Camões IP, James Myint Swe, author of the book “Cannon Soldiers of Burma” and also by Fr. Peter Sein Hlaing Oo, who supported with texts in this edition and also in the Burmese translation.

The book can be purchased at IIM and its online platform IIM BOOKSHOP.

Book launch video on IIM YouTube channel

On the 24th of June, Macau City Day, the International Institute of Macau held a session open to the public, to commemorate the historic event that marked Macau on that day, in 1622, of the victory over the Dutch who tried to take over Macau, on the day of St. John´s the Baptist, for which the city council consecrated him Patron of the City.

The session was simply intended to honor him, reminding the population of a promise that had been made nearly 400 years ago.

Since 2018, the IIM has been carrying out different events, aimed at students and the younger generation, for a continued promotion of this event, which may help the population to better understand the importance of this date, and contribute to improving the sense of belonging and a better perception for the importance of preserving this memory, which has recently been commemorated through a Festival that has been classified as one of the elements of Macao's Intangible Cultural Heritage.

There was a brief presentation by several representatives present, from the IIM, moderated by its secretary general, Rufino Ramos, Miguel de Senna Fernandes, from the Associação dos Macaenses, Amélia António, from Casa de Portugal, Paula Carion from the Associação dos Jovens Macaenses, and Wallace Kwah, from the Macau Heritage Ambassadors Association, who collaborated on the project, as well as an online intervention by researcher Mariana Pereira, who presented and launched an electronic page dedicated to this event (https://macaense24junho.wixsite.com/evento). IIM have also launched a video about the historic event, memories of previous celebrations and perspectives for the future on this important date, now available on its YouTube and Facebook channels (iim macau).

The event was supported by the Macau Foundation.

Video access

On April 6, the book launch of the Chinese edition “Macaense Cuisine - Origins and Evolution”, by António Pacheco Jorge da Silva, took place at the Tap Seac Sports Pavilion, part of the Spring Book Fair program this year.

The book, initially published by the International Institute of Macau and made and translated now with the support of the Macau Foundation, had been printed in English in 2016, with a second edition in 2019. It was distinguished in that same year, with the World Award “Gourmand World Cookbook”, during the event of the International Book Fair in Macau, at the Venetian Macao.

The book describes the origins and history of Macanese cuisine, fundamentally what was left of the recipes and memories of the Macanese families, which marked place before and after the Second World War, a moment that marked the emigration of Macanese people around the world, today considered the Macanese diaspora. With the intention of reaching out to the vast Chinese-based community in Macau, this edition was recently published by Macao Daily News, with the translation by Professor Ieong Chi Chau, former director of a local school, and Ms. Iong In Lei.

This book is fully illustrated and with the original content of the previous mentioned editions, it leaves a rich legacy of the history and recipes of Macanese cuisine, now considered as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Macau and in a current context where Macau is also a Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO. It is recalled that, recently, a digital database of Macanese recipes was prepared by the Macao Government Tourism Office.

During the event, the presentations were made in Cantonese by the IIM's Secretary General, Rufino Ramos, and by the book's translator, professor Ieong Chi Chau.

The book is available on IIM Bookshop website and also at that fair, until 11 April.