The Regional Secretary for Science, Technology and Infrastructures visited today the IT facilities of Ribeira do Meio, in the village of Lages do Pico and announced that Government will provide financial aid in order to modernise and enlarge its facilities.
“This visit has a double purpose; on one hand, we will become better acquainted, in the spot, with the necessities and aspirations of the association that is responsible for its operation (Associação Dinamizadora de Jovens – Association for a Dynamic Youth) and, on the other hand, we want to assure that the Government values the associations that make young people more dynamic in terms of the information and knowledge society,” underlined José Contente.
The Island of Pico currently has nine IT spaces, and there are six computer centres only in the municipality of Lajes, for which the Association for a Dynamic Youth is responsible.
The Regional Secretary praised the dynamism, the intervention and the initiatives of this association in its community, claiming that “it is fair to emphasise that this association was a pioneer project regarding the information network of the Azores.”
The Regional Secretariat for Science, Technology and Infrastructures, through the Regional Directorate for Science and Technology, provides financial support to dozens of IT spaces spread throughout the Archipelago, with the purpose of creating and developing the information and communication circuit in the Azores.
The Secretary also stressed the commitment of the Government over the issue of the digital inclusion of the population.
“We support maintenance and training, and we will now provide financial support to this association in order to modernise its facilities, so that children, young people and even adults can have new conditions to develop their skills,” added the Secretary.
The association that operates IT Space in Ribeira do Meio receives an average of 500 people per year.