Speaking this morning at the opening session of the 16th International Metropolis Conference, held in Ponta Delgada, the President of the Government considered that the Region is privileged stage for the organisation of this meeting for its good public policies on migration.

“Our communities abroad, such as the immigrants we have recently welcomed who have taken active part in the construction of our society, are a vital asset in the definition and assertion of the Azores we were and are,” said Carlos César.

Alluding to the history of migratory movements in the Azores and the countries of destination for Azorean emigrants – Brazil, Hawaii, the United States, Canada and Bermuda – the President of the Government stated that over the past 60 years nearly 200,000 people have left the archipelago, almost as many people as those who currently live in the archipelago.

“The Azores, which already lacked the minimum conditions for their development process, lived under a centralised regime based in Lisbon without any autonomy in the decision-making process. In addition, the Region also lacked the necessary human capital to stimulate its development process and leverage its economy,” Carlos César stressed, adding that, “fortunately this situation has changed and the present context is different.”

For the President of the Regional Government, “the Azores of today have become a space for the assertion of Europe’s frontiers and the strategic projection for both sides of the Atlantic. In addition, the Region has also followed, in recent years, the path of convergence towards the average of EU economic and social indicators.”

 And this happens without the Region losing the bonds with Azorean emigrants around the world, who live in communities where the assertion and defence of their cultural heritage is primarily made by the network of Houses of the Azores. These institutions have played “a fundamental role in the projection of the Azores among host countries as well as in the promotion of our strategic and commercial interests, strengthening the institutional dimension of their action. In this context, the Azorean emigrants living abroad, about one million, are also an important strategic asset.”

As Carlos César stressed, the Azores have also become an immigration destination, which is a stimulus for the Region as attractive place for other; however, this situation brings complex and multidimensional challenges for the Region as a host community.

“The integration in the Azorean society is considered to be a key factor for the well-being of every citizen and every immigrant living on our islands; it has the Government’s concern to ensure a full, natural and harmonious integration of those who have chosen this archipelago to work, live or to settle their families within the established legal framework,” stressed Carlos César.

Considering, in this context, the Azorean emigration experience as an asset, Carlos César conveyed his belief that the Azores have lived up to the responsibilities of a host region, which reinforces its conviction that the archipelago is an adequate place  to discuss the future of migration in the context of global changes.

“The constant mobility resulting from the ongoing restructuring of economic structures, the new political and social concerns, local and regional instabilities in certain regions of the world as well as the extreme meteorological phenomena caused by climate change, will force policy makers to draw greater attention to the migration issues, seeking  solutions adjusted to the new challenges,” concluded Carlos César.
 
The Metropolis conference, which takes place until September 15, will be attended by over six hundred experts on migration from 80 countries.