The Regional Director for European Affairs stated in Ponta Delgada that the "Islands of Innovation" project, under the INTERREG Europe programme, will contribute "to the Azores we want: a dynamic and innovative region," seizing "all opportunities of support that the European Union provides to its regions" and preparing the Region for the post 2020 period.

Célia Azevedo spoke during the opening of the meeting of the regional partners of the "Islands of Innovation" project, considered that "with the creation of networks and with the involvement and contribution of all it will be possible to leverage, in its most varied perspectives, innovation towards economic diversification."

The Regional Director for Science and Technology, who also attended the meeting, defended  that despite "the typical constraints of island regions, such as the loss of young and talented population," which face the limitation of employment opportunities, "the advantages of islands regarding continental territories" were also recognised.

According to Bruno Pacheco, "the very condition of isolation can motivate a stronger involvement of the community and favour the creation of the ideal environment for the existence of 'living laboratories' and 'test benches' for innovative projects."

The Regional Director for European Affairs also stressed that this network will allow endow the project with "all the information, perception and ideas about the Region's public innovation policy."
Moreover, it will also include all players, because only with the contribution of public authorities, universities, economic agents and civil society we can build "an inclusive, aggregating and diffusing knowledge network."

According to the Regional Director for Science and Technology, the participation of the Azores in European projects, such as the one that is now beginning, "is of vital importance." The Region will be able to learn from partners that are already in the most advanced stages in the [innovation] process" and can ,therefore, "adapt models and policies to the specific features of our archipelago."

The meeting, which marks the beginning of the project, was attended by members from several departments of the Regional Government, Regional Fund for Science and technology, Society for Business Development of the Azores, Regional Centre for Handicrafts, University of the Azores, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores, INOVA and Nonagon. The group may be extended during the project, whose first phase will run until 2019.

This project, linked to the Azores 2020 Operational Programme and the RIS3 Smart Specialisation Strategy, aims to identify, systematise and introduce improvements in innovation policies, fostering entrepreneurship as well as new activities and products in project partners, namely the Azores, Madeira, Guadeloupe (Outermost Region of France), Samso (Denmark), Kuressaare (Estonia) and the Northern Aegean Region (Greece). Moreover, it
promotes the exchange of good practices between these regions and within regions.

The "Islands of Innovation" project was approved in November 2016 with an overall budget of around one million and six hundred thousand Euros. It will be implemented between 2017 and 2021.