three public university campuses, namely the Zambeze University (with headquarters and rectory in the city), the Licungo University and the Higher Institute of Health Sciences. One of the major universities here is the Catholic University of Mozambique which was established in 1996 by the Catholic church and affiliated with the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU). This private, coeducational university is locally known as Universidade Catolica de Mocambique (UCM) and has been officially recognized by Mozambique's Ministry of Education and Culture (or Ministério da Educação e Cultura) which oversees the overall education system. A second major university is the Jean Piaget University of Mozambique, locally termed da Universidade Jean Piaget de Moçambique(UNIPIAGET). This Portugal based University was founded in 2004 by Instituto Piaget, a non-profit cooperative, and is just one of seven campuses established across the globe. There is a Portuguese international school, Escola Portuguesa da Beira. Places of worship Among the places of worship, they are predominantly Christian churches and temples: Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Beira (Catholic Church), Reformed Church in Mozambique, Igreja Presbiteriana de Moçambique (both World Communion of Reformed Churches), Convenção Baptista de Moçambique (Baptist World Alliance), Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, Assemblies of God, Zion Christian Church. There are also Muslim mosques. Sports The city is home to Clube Ferroviário da Beira (basketball). International relations Beira has been twinned with Bristol, UK, since 1990 and the Bristol-Beira Link manages a range of projects in education, culture, commerce, and disability. Twin towns — sister cities Beira is twinned with: Bristol, United Kingdom (since 1990) Porto, Portugal Boston, United States (since 1990) Padua, Italy Coimbra, Portugal (since 1997) Bender, Moldova Luanda, Angola Gqeberha, South Africa (since 2008) Notable people Mia Couto (born 1955), writer Pedro Boese (born 1972), artist Carlos Cardoso (1951-2000), journalist Tasha de Vasconcelos (born 1966), actress, top model Reinildo Mandava (born 1994), association football player See also Beira Patrol Cultural Beira Desportivo Manica Lumumba (film) Masterplan Beira 2035 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Beira References Bibliography External links Municipio da Beira an official site of the Municipality of Beira, with news and recent pictures Cidade da Beira a Portuguese language site with some old and new pictures Populated places in Sofala Province Provincial capitals in Mozambique Populated coastal places in Mozambique Mozambique Channel Populated places established in 1890 Water transport in Mozambique