The International Institute of Macau announced granting the Identity Award of 2017 to Henrique d'Assumpção, Quito for friends, for his very relevant contribution to the preservation of Macanese heritage and identity, disseminating their genealogy, history and culture, in the cyber space, in Portuguese and English. Born in Macau, but sent very young to Australia to study, "Quito" d'Assumpção played prominent roles in the Government of that country, achieving an enviable list of services and several titles and honorific orders. After retiring from his academic life as Professor Emeritus at the University of South Australia, he devoted himself wholeheartedly, over the past 20 years, to create a permanent repository for the preservation of cultural and historical records of the Macanese people. Despite his numerous other professional and official commitments, he has been able to gather and make available a large collection of data. Improving the existing documentation about the genealogy of Macanese families, enriching it with thousands of photographs and many other information, collecting more than 200 recipes of Macanese cuisine, picking up verses, a lexicon and audio from the old Macau dialect he managed to digitize these elements into an electronic platform awaiting of biographical documentation related to more than 55,000 names, and prepared the development of this base "indefinitely for the future", without looking for personal interest and in a worthy of the highest praise.
The Identity Award, initiated in 2003 and decided by approval of all governing bodies of the IIM, aims to reward individuals or institutions that, in a continuous way, have contributed to the enhancement and appreciation of the Macanese Identity. Among the rewarded individuals or institutions, contemplated persons include Monsignor Manuel Teixeira, Henrique de Senna Fernandes, Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales and institutions such as the Macau Diocese, the Holy House of Mercy of Macau, the University of Macau, the Macau Portuguese School and other local and overseas entities, related to the Macanese diaspora.
