THE DIRECTOR of the British Council in Coimbra has retired after 30 years of service.
Dr.Carolyn Cemlyn-Jones was awarded an MBE in 1994 for her outstanding services to the British Council in the field of management.
Married to Coimbra University teacher in Post Graduate Translation, Michael Cemlyn-Jones, Dr Cemlyn-Jones came to Portugal in 1972 and worked as an hourly-paid English teacher at the British Council until 1979.
She also taught English 20th Century History and English Culture at Coimbra University until 2004.
After returning from a stint in the United States, Dr Cemlyn-Jones was invited to be a Temporary Director of the British Council in Coimbra and between 1981 and 2008 worked as full-time Director.
She has two daughters, Jessica who is a chest and lung specialist at Coimbra University Hospital, and Tara who is a Financial Expert working in Barcelona.
“I enjoyed the administrative side of being a director immensely and did an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) in 1992,” she says.
“While at the British Council all kinds of unusual things happened: we had break-ins, asylum seekers coming to us for refuge, anti-British slogans painted on our door during the 1st Iraq War, and I remember three teachers didn’t come back after one Christmas which really put us in a pickle,” she recalls.
Emma Thompson
Another highlight of her career was her involvement in bringing the Renaissance Theatre to Portugal to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Coimbra University where she met Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Richard Briars and film composer David Parfit.
She says that she is particularly proud of the fact that when she started at the British Council there were around 500 students and, by the time she retired in May, there were 1,500 or more, reflecting a growth in the need for quality English language teaching.
And what’s in store for the future? “I’m not going to sit at home. I have several ideas including charity work involving Coimbra Hospital and helping people to set up a business,” she said.
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