Instituto Superior Técnico de Lisboa
Building in the technological and nuclear campus of the Lisbon Institute Technical Institute.
The US government has canceled a support program that exists in several Portuguese colleges, which serves to publicize the American culture at its facilities, and sent an inquiry with questions that left the stunned directors.
The programa “American Corner” which has spaces at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), at the Universities of the Azores, Aveiro, Porto (Faculty of Letters), Lisbon (Faculty of Letters) and Nova de Lisboa (Faculty of Science and Technology).
The president of IST, Rogério Colaço, reveals to the agency Lusa that he received the communication of the cancellation, with “immediate effect”from the program last March 5.
On the same day, IST received a Inquiry with “very unsuccessful questions” about whether or not it collaborated, or was cited or not, on accusations or investigations involving terrorist associations, cartels, trafficking in people and drugsorganizations or groups that promote mass immigration.
“The coach replied that would not answer the questionnaire Because it did not fit a public higher education institution subject to public and legal scrutiny of a democratic country member of the European Union, ”says Rogério Colaço.
According to the president of IST, the communication of the cancellation of the program, followed by a questionnaire, cites a determination emanating from the US State Department.
O “American Corner” It worked for over ten years at IST And, according to Rogério Colaço, promoted lectures, meetings and activities of “dissemination and scientific cape”. Annual financing was around 20 thousand euros.
Amazing with “bastard” of US government questions
The director of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon (Flul), Hermenegildo Fernandes, tells Lusa that he received the same questionnaire, who left him stupid for “Dimension of Destaration” of questions.
Hermenegildo Fernandes points out that this questionnaire contained questions about “climate schedules“If the institution had“ contacts with Communist and Socialist parties“, Or“ relations with United Nations, Popular Republic of China, Iran and Russia“, And the“ which he did to preserve women from gender ideologies“.
The college He also opted for not responding To the questionnaire, noting that “its dependence is with the scientific policies of Portugal and the European Union”, said the director of Flul.
Hermenegildo Fernandes does not clarify whether the “American Corner” program was canceled or not at his college.
The Faculty of Science and Technology of the New University of Lisbon communicates to Lusa that the “American Corner” that works in this institution is “an annual project that will end in September“.
“We are assessing the hypothesis of applying for the continuation of the project or not,” adds the college in a brief statement.
“We have excellent relationships with all six ‘American corners’ and we will continue to collaborate in a series of programs and initiatives that promote our common objectives“The US Embassy spokeswoman in Lisbon says Marie Blanchard, without directly answering the question about the cancellation of the program.
Lusa questioned the embassy if, following the cuts announced by the Trump administration to the financing of universities and scientific agencies, the “American Corner” program would be affected, and in what molds.
According to the US Embassy Portal in Portugal, the “American spaces” total More than 600 in more than 140 countries And they are located, namely, in universities, shopping centers, libraries and embassies facilities.
