The Regional Director for Youth stated that the Government of the Azores "has invested 550 thousand Euros in free time programmes for young people, through the OTL-J and Entra em Campo."
 
Lúcio Rodrigues spoke in Lagoa, São Miguel, on the sidelines of a visit to the holiday camp organised by Cabouco Social and Cultural Centre. The government official pointed out that youth leisure programmes "continue to be a strong investment that fall within the youth policies pursued by the Azorean Government, based on providing experiences that strengthen the sense of belonging and competence among young people."
 
In this regard, the Regional Director for Youth emphasised that "Entra em Campo" programme aims to not only promote the personal development of young people, but also to promote civic education and social integration through participation and involvement in cultural, sports and recreational activities."
 
"Entra em Campo" aims to promote the healthy occupation of leisure time among young people, through activities developed in holiday camps during Easter break and summer holidays.
 
This programme is organised into differentiated groups: young people between the ages of 11 and 14 and between the ages of 15 and 18. It covers the areas of leisure, sports, health, environment, science, multimedia, culture and heritage, or arts, among others.
 
"The Youth Free Time Occupation (OTL-J) programme represents an innovative way of occupying leisure time, thus contributing to its non-formal education through the acquisition of new knowledge," said Lúcio Rodrigues.
 
This programme is composed of several sub-programmes, which is designed and organised according to the aspirations and needs of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 who are enrolled or have already completed the 9th form.
 
This year, the summer OTLJ programme involved the participation of 2,657 young people in 1,077 projects.