“Letras & Companhia”, or “Alphabets and Friends”, the first programme funded by the GEG Cultural & Academic Fund and held under the direction of the Portuguese Institute in the East, was launched in April 2021.  The festival presented itself as the inaugural edition of a literary, civic and cultural festival to promote a set of initiatives to raise awareness in the community to environmental protection and sustainability topics.

Last month, the “‘Alphabets & Friends’ – Feet on Earth and Head in the Air” literary and cultural festival hosted activities such as puppet theatre shows, shadow show, exhibitions, cinema sessions, presentations of books, and thematic workshops.  Through these activities, the festival attracted more than 5,000 participants, promoted the Portuguese language, culture and literature to children and people of all age groups, and helped promote the integration of Macau’s Chinese and Portuguese communities.  With the support of the Education and Youth Development Bureau of the Macau SAR Government, the literary and cultural festival joined hands with local schools and held related activities on 5 campuses.  In addition, one of the activities, the "Living Among What's Left Behind" exhibition was open to the public for free at the gallery of the Municipal Affairs Bureau of the Macau SAR Government.  The award-winning works of Portuguese photographer Mário Cruz were displayed with introductions in 3 languages including Chinese, English and Portuguese.  A sharing session of the exhibition was also held to discuss the integration of environmental protection in the education of young people in Macau, attracting many citizens to participate.