The Macao Scientific and Cultural Centre in Lisbon opens on Saturday a workshop on Patuá, a creole derived from archaic Portuguese, Lusa says.

The workshop comprises 32 sessions, to be held between April and October, for up to 25 students, the Portuguese news agency reported on Monday.

The organisers are a Macanese, Joaquim Ng Pereira, and a researcher, Sara Roncon Leotte, the report says.

It quotes Mr Ng Pereira as saying he will invite the top students to join an amateur dramatic group who will perform in Patuá.

He said the group would be formed this year by the Macao Association in Portugal in partnership with Miguel de Senna Fernandes, director of the Dóci Papiaçam di Macau drama group.

The purpose is to build a cultural bridge to serve as a reminder of the four centuries and longer that Macao has linked Portugal and China, Lusa  quotes Mr Ng Pereira as saying.