NEW’S | “9 islands, 9 actions” programme promotes immigrant integration in the Azores
The Presidency of the Government of the Azores, through the Regional Directorate for the Communities, is promoting the “9 islands, 9 actions” initiative with a series of training sessions and workshops aimed at contributing to the full integration of immigrants and foreign citizens from third countries living in the Region.
This initiative will take place on all the Azorean islands between September and November, with a view to raising awareness among the Azorean population about the importance of cultural diversity and the promotion of interculturality.
The programme includes sessions on each island aimed at secondary school students (morning), Regional Public Administration workers (afternoon) and the public in general (evening), involving the participation of immigrants and foreign citizens from third countries.
The regional tour kicks off next Friday, September 29, on the island of São Jorge at the Velas Cultural Auditorium at 9.30 am, with a training session on Interculturality under the theme “Building bridges between Cultures,” which will explore the themes of integration and interculturality in a school context. This activity is directed at secondary school students from the Velas and Calheta basic education and secondary schools as well as at the students from São Jorge Vocational School.
The debate on “Celebrating Cultural Diversity: Challenges and Opportunities at School” will begin at 11 am. The event will feature the participation of the presidents of the school boards of the São Jorge secondary schools and a local immigrant, with the Regional Director for the Communities, José Andrade, as moderator.
The training session under the theme “Welcoming People and Cultures” will take place at 2 pm, focussing on interculturality in civil service, and is aimed at regional public administration workers providing citizen services
The debate on “Intercultural Dialogue: Uniting Communities through Diversity and Integration,” scheduled for 3pm, will feature the mayors of Velas and Calheta and a local immigrant. It will be moderated by the Regional Director for the Communities.
The monologue “Vidas- Entre o Verde e a Saudade,” a heartfelt dramatisation based on the personal experiences of immigrants, performed by Brazilian actress and artist Ângela Fernandes, will be presented at 8 pm during the public session, which will be open to the general public.
The programme continues with a talk on “Interculturality and immigrant experiences in the Azores,” featuring the life experiences of local immigrants.
The workshop “Intercultur’arte” will take place at 9:15 pm. The activity will focus on painting techniques and will be conducted by the artist Ângela Fernandes.
There will be a moment of socialisation at the end of the event.
Throughout the day, and in parallel to these activities, “We are all Azores” will be on display, an exhibition depicting the wealth of interculturality in the archipelago. The aim is to celebrate diversity by bringing together stories and photographs representing the culture of the countries of origin of immigrants living on the nine islands of the Azores.
The programme reaches all the islands of the archipelago, with the same components, and the next sessions are already scheduled for the next month on the islands of Faial (October 3), Flores (October 6), Graciosa (October 12), Terceira (October 20) and Corvo (October 30). In November, the activity reaches the island of Pico on November 3, then Santa Maria on November 9, and ends on November 23 in São Miguel. This last public session will include the presentation of the theatre play “Ecos Migrantes,” directed by Eleonora Marino Duarte and performed by nine immigrants living in different municipalities of São Miguel.
The “9 islands, 9 actions” activity falls within the scope of the Intercultural Islands project, a joint organisation between the Regional Directorate for the Communities and AIPA – Association of Immigrants in the Azores, funded by the Fund for Asylum, Migration and Integration (FAMI) and the High Commission for Migration (ACM). The Regional Directorate for the Communities is responsible for the implementation of four actions from the seven to be developed under this project.
This initiative is part of the Regional Government’s policy of raising awareness and promoting the full integration of immigrants and citizens from other countries who live on the nine islands of the archipelago.
