The Government of the Azores will support the travel of a group of students from Tomás de Borba Basic Education and Secondary School (Terceira Island) to Brussels, where they will enhance their knowledge on the European Union and its institutions.

Students David Santos, Inês Freitas and Miguel Jarroca and teacher Filipe Almeida will have the opportunity to visit several emblematic places of the Belgian capital as well as major institutions related to the European Union, including the headquarters of the Permanent Representation of Portugal, the EU Council, the Committee of the Regions, the EU Parliament and THE Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions.

The three students are part of the "Os Lilases" team, the winner of the "The Azores and the European Union" contest. This initiative is part of the celebrations programme of the Europe Day in the Azores and is sponsored by the Cabinet of the Regional Under Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations.

Under this contest, the "ABC" team from São Roque do Pico Basic Education and Secondary School (students André Garcia Beatriz Macedo and Carolina Soares, and teacher Marlene Maciel) was placed second and the "Cagarros na Europa" team from Santa Maria Basic Education and Secondary School (students Rafael Coelho, Tiago Pereira and Ana Freitas, and teacher Rui Quadrado) was placed third.

The celebrations were held at São Roque do Pico Basic Education and Secondary School. The event featured the participation of teams from across the archipelago, which were selected through the multimedia contest "Act, React, Impact: European Elections 2014", as well as of youngsters from seven European countries.

During the ceremony, the prize for best work submitted under the Multimedia Contest was awarded to the "Os Fenix" team from Ribeira Grande Secondary School (students Maria Martins Raposo, Nuno Rebelo and Pedro Gaipo, and teacher Ana Almeida).In addition, there were also five works that were distinguished with Honourable Mentions: "Os Lilases" team from Tomás de Borba Basic Education and Secondary School; "MDM" team from Horta Vocational Training School; "Os Arriaga" team from Manuel de Arriaga Secondary School; the "António DaCosta European Club" from Tomás de Borba Basic Education and Secondary School; "São Jorge Euroteam" from Calheta Basic Education and Secondary School.

The prize, a field trip to Brussels, was awarded to the student team from Terceira. It aims to complement the information acquired by the students, either at school or in the contests promoted by the Government, with the on-site knowledge of the most important places and institutions in the Belgian capital. Furthermore, it also aims to instil the sense of belonging among Azorean youngsters and promote their participation in the European Union.