The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) held its third one-day conference on April 28th, from 9 AM to 4 PM, at Simmons College in Boston, MA. This event was organized in collaboration with the Boston Portuguese Festival and the Simmons College Institute for Leadership and Change. The conference—entitled "MULHER - The Evolving World of Portuguese-Speaking Women"— celebrated the accomplishments of Portuguese-speaking women who have taken steps to move forward with their lives and to raise the standards of their communities.
More than 125 participants listened to the more than 25 other panelists from a variety of backgrounds and cultures at the MAPS Portuguese-speaking women’s conference at Simmons, sponsored by Simmons, CP Credit Union and the Boston Portuguese Festival.
The full-day conference put a spotlight on the extraordinary struggles and accomplishments of New England area women from the Brazilian, Cape Verdean and Portuguese communities. It was the third community conference organized by MAPS since 2002.
Conference participants also received inspiration from a variety of poetry, photography, artwork, drama and literature presented by Portuguese-speaking women.
The conference organizing committee included: Regina Bertholdo, BA, from Somerville Public Schools and The Brazilian Women’s Group; Maria Carvalho, LICSW, from Children’s Hospital;Elsa Gomes, BA from MAPS; Sonia Jorge, Consultant; Ana Nava, PhD, Committee Chair from MAPS and Cambridge Health Alliance; and Donalda Silva, LICSW, from Brown University.