LAGOA | Faria e Castro praises work of teachers in education for European citizenship

The Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency, Pedro de Faria e Castro, praised in Lagoa the work of teachers in the European Clubs of Azorean schools to promote European citizenship.

“European Clubs are spaces that encourage European citizenship,” Faria e Castro said, speaking at the closing session of the 3rd Regional Meeting of European Clubs. The event brought together the heads of the 21 European Clubs active on seven islands of the archipelago in the 2023/2024 school year, emphasising the importance of this work for the perception that society has about the European Union.

“We have to resist the idea that the European Union is not a democratic process,”  the Regional Under Secretary noted, stressing that it is “a democratic process and a process of political construction and organisation of society.”

For Pedro de Faria e Castro, “it is important to make students aware of the importance of the European Union as an entity and as an organisation. Likewise, they should know what the Portuguese State is, what the Portuguese Republic is, what the Autonomous Region of the Azores is and get to know their municipality, be it Lagoa, Vila do Porto or Santa Cruz da Graciosa.”

“It is important for them to know the structures on which they manage their daily lives and the lives of their families,” said the Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency. In this regard, he emphasised the “significant contribution” that European Clubs and schools make, contributing to the dissemination of the importance of the European Union in the lives of all citizens, in general, and Azoreans in particular.

On the occasion, Faria e Castro also thanked all the teachers for taking part in this 3rd Regional Meeting as well as the Directorate-General for Education and the Europe Direct Azores Information Centre for their collaboration in this initiative. It was intended to be a moment of work and reflection among those responsible for these school spaces promoting activities related to the European Dimension of Education and knowledge about the European Union.

GRA/RÁDIOILHÉU