Portuguese Language as a Political Asset in the Diaspora Across the Globe

Photo by Luiz Rampelotto

Join us as we navigate the oceans of Lusophony, exploring how a language spoken by 300 million people now resurfaces as a force of economic, cultural, and political influence—from Lisbon to Luanda, São Paulo to Macau.

Discover:

• How speaking Portuguese pays off—professionally and personally
• The rise of Portuguese diasporas as engines of soft power

Mônica Villela Grayley is an international journalist and works for the United Nations as the Chief of Portuguese UN News. She has previously worked for the BBC in London, the Deutsche Welle in Germany, the Globo Radio system, and the second largest weekly in Brazil, in the 1990’s, Revista Manchete.

Monica Grayley has served as spokesperson for three former presidents of the UN General Assembly, and has worked in all roles of a newsroom, including editor-in-chief and director. A native speaker of Portuguese, Mônica speaks German, Spanish and English, and uses French as her working language.