NAU is an innovative platform in Portuguese language that has the mission to be a reference of Lusophone knowledge, putting knowledge within everyone's reach, for Portugal and for the Portuguese. On the Day of Portugal, of Camões and the Portuguese Communities, we celebrate all the Portuguese and Portuguese descendants, the Portuguese culture and language.
Celebrate this day with us and find out more about NAU, a service of the FCCN unit of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), how it serves Portugal and what its advantages are, with our manager, Pedro Cabral.
The Day of Portugal, Camões and Portuguese Communities
On 10 June we celebrate the Day of Portugal, Camões and the Portuguese Communities, how does the NAU as a platform recognise and contribute to the dissemination of the importance of that date and its meaning?
NAU serves the Portuguese-speaking community, whether in Portugal, in countries where Portuguese is the official language, or even all the speakers of Camões' language around the world. The President of the Republic has been concerned to be in direct contact with the Portuguese community abroad during the 10th of June and it is with great pleasure that we see NAU fulfilling this role every day, since NAU users are found all over the world, in particular in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Spain, USA, France, Holland, Mozambique, United Kingdom or São Tomé and Príncipe, just to name a few of the most representative countries.
Considering the courses available at NAU, how do you think they can contribute to the strengthening of ties between populations dispersed in the vast space of Lusophony?
Several institutions are contributing to this role, either physically, through local associations with activities to celebrate June 10th itself, or remotely, as is the case with RTP International.
With an increasingly digital world, it is easier for families to keep in touch with their homeland, with their families, with their people. The NAU, being a digital learning platform, also plays this role of reinforcing ties, since it allows those outside to see the knowledge and look that a Portuguese entity, in a particular area of knowledge, imprints on the NAU.
For example, the courses on fake news have a set of contextual aspects focused on our reality. This allows users who are abroad to maintain that proximity, with a common starting point, which is Portugal. But it also ends up ensuring a very interesting dynamic, as they bring their life experience from a distinct cultural context, since each country has its idiosyncrasies.
#3 What do you consider to be the main advantages of having a platform like NAU?
Although English is the most spoken language in the world, not everyone speaks it. There is no platform dedicated exclusively to the Portuguese language or that represents the entities that speak the language of Camões. NAU creates this space, responding to a relatively large group of people who do not speak other languages.
Knowing that the NAU platform has recently launched its first course in English, how do you intend to manage the coexistence between courses in different languages, considering that NAU announces itself as a reference platform of Lusophone knowledge?
As I mentioned before, we do not only represent the Portuguese language, because we also represent Lusophone entities. In this sense we have to recognise that some of the entities have an international scope of work and English is part of their daily lives. Even when we have Lusophone entities creating a course in other languages, it is frequent that they bring contextual aspects related to Lusophony, so we continue to fulfil our mission of bringing Lusophone knowledge. In this way, we continue to be the reference platform of Lusophone knowledge and that makes us want to continue to sail around the world sharing what we know and do best, regardless of the language.
What are the platform's next plans for growth? With regard to new courses will you continue to place on Portuguese language courses or extend to other languages is one of NAU's goals?
Our bet for the coming months is to promote courses that have an impact on employability, whether for those who are already working and need to improve the work they do, for those who want to make a change in their career, or even for those who now want to start a career. On the other hand, we also want to bet on a greater diversity in terms of knowledge areas. This way we will expand the NAU's target audience and create greater conditions for the desired massification, promoting the increase of digital literacy.
What message would you like to leave to the Portuguese living abroad who find NAU for the first time?
Let them publicise it and make the most of it.
What is the NAU platform?
The NAU platform is a service developed and managed by the FCCN Unit of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) that allows the creation of courses in MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) format, i.e. courses that are open and accessible to all, produced by recognized and relevant entities in society, with the participation of thousands of people.
This platform, which celebrated its 2nd anniversary in April 2021, is part of the transversal actions of the Portugal INCoDe.2030 initiative by promoting digital development, inclusion and digital literacy, education and qualification of the active population. INCoDe.2030 finds in the NAU a tool that contributes to greater access to knowledge and to the development of skills, making the population more qualified.
Find out about the courses available, and more information, by visiting the NAU website.
