The Regional Director for Youth, Pilar Damião, praised the MALA Cultural Cooperative and the presence of "Migrants in Azores" group for organising a project of "extreme social and political relevance in 21st century Europe."

Pilar Damião spoke at the opening of the exhibition titled as "Intercontinental Address - Images of Migration in Azorean Urban Space" that took place in Ponta Delgada last Thursday. She stressed that this initiative aims "to promote, through art, the respect for difference, the uniqueness of every human being and the respect for human dignity."

"The call for the promotion of diversity and the respect for this principle emerge paradoxically at a time when nationalism, exclusion, fear of mingling and cultural clashes tend to be more visible," added Pilar Damião.

The Regional Director for Youth stressed that the Government has been "very sensitive" to the issue of discrimination and has developed a series of projects since 2013, including a campaign held under the title "Before you Discriminate me, Know me!" Its aim is to "stimulate the participation of youngsters and the free exercise of active citizenship," promoting the fight against multiple discrimination.

In turn, the Regional Director for Communities stressed the importance of supporting initiatives intended to disseminate the existing cultural diversity in the Azores, recalling that there are immigrants from 75 nationalities residing in the Azores.

"The Regional of the Azores has encouraged the creation and promotion of projects which, on the one hand, promote interculturalism and, on the other hand, support the full integration of those who have chosen to reside and work in our archipelago," stressed Paulo Teves.

For the Regional Director, it is important to emphasise the crucial role played by immigrants in the Azores and their descendants in the "development and progress" of the Region.

"It is possible to adapt our action, taking into account the expectation and aspirations of those who, having been born in a foreign county, chose to live on these Atlantic islands," added the government official.

Organised by MALA - Cultural Cooperation, the "Migrants in the Azores" projects is supported by the Regional Government of the Azores, through the Regional Directorates for Youth and the Communities. It is also sponsored by other institutions and municipalities from the islands of São Miguel, Terceira and Faial.

"Intercontinental Address - Images of Migration in Azorean Urban Space" is an exhibition that results from two workshops held in Ponta Delgada on October 16. This initiative intended to bring together immigrant citizens living in the Azores so that they could share their experiences as immigrants.

This work also resulted in the introduction of pictograms in public spaces, an initiative will be held on the islands of São Miguel, Terceira and Faial. It will include the display of advertising posters and panels, creation of digital animations, distribution of postcards and printing of shopping bags with the purposing of including the subjectivity of immigration into the urban landscape where it coexists.

The project that has now reached the Azores has already been implemented in Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg (Germany), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Salzburg and Vienna (Austria), Barcelona and Seville (Spain), among other cities.