Carlos César made a very positive assessment of the youth mobility programme Eurodyssey, which the Azores have been chairing over the last five years.

The President of the Government, who is also the President of Eurodyssey, spoke at this morning's session of the General Assembly of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), held in Ponta Delgada. He recalled that the programme began in September 1985, being not only the first professional mobility programme in Europe, but also the only one between European Regions and under their supervision, rather than between states.

"Eurodyssey simultaneously aims to promote mobility and employability of youngsters from participating regions, while asserting itself as a tool of cooperation between these regions," he said.

Alluding to the course of his presidency of Eurodyssey, the government official revealed that the programme has been presented in thirty-eight commissions from twenty-nine European regions.
 
Moreover, he also mentioned that over ten thousand youngsters have contacted with Eurodyssey, half of whom have participated in the traineeship programme, which corresponds to the allocation of over to scholarships and traineeship support in more than two thousand European companies.

On the other hand, Eurodyssey was also brought closer to other programs, such as Leonardo da Vinci and EURES network, almost doubling the number of participating regions, which grew from twenty-six to forty-two in the course of Carlos César's presidency.

The President of the Government reminded the regions that have recently joined Eurodyssey, the Austrian region of Corinthia, the Georgian region of Guria and the Croatian region of Karlovac. The memberships of the regions of Istanbul, Turkey, Asturias, Spain, Donegal, Ireland, and Silesia, Poland, are currently under consideration.

Eurodyssey has also participated in different European summer universities, said Carlos César, who announced the organisation of the AER Summer School under the theme "Global Challenges, Regional Opportunities" in the Azores next August.

Another ongoing project under this initiative concerns the study of the impact on the employability of young professionals who participate in Eurodyssey, whose data are now being received and processed for further information to all participating regions.

Considering that the programme can be an important tool of international cooperation, the President of the Government and of Eurodyssey mentioned as an example the cooperation with Quebec and other possible collaborations, such as the case of Tunisia, and revealed to have received contacts from official entities from countries like Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Senegal and Australia, searching for information on Eurodyssey.
 
"Despite the difficulties and uncertainties we currently face at a European and international level, we cannot overlook one of the most important dimensions of our collective future: the investment in employment and youth. Eurodyssey is an effective tool for this essential investment," said Carlos César.