The Regional Assistant Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs called for the need of a "serious commitment of Portugal and the European Union" to combat youth unemployment. This is a problem affecting Portugal and the European Union that has a negative impact in the Azores.

Given its far-reaching effects, Isabel Rodrigues considers that the resolution of this issue requires "the commitment of Portugal to reinforce social cohesion and mitigate inequalities as well as to fight for the dignity of work and ensure an investment in the future that will not leave us at the mercy of the crises and the brutality of adjustment policies."

According to the Regional Secretary, this commitment should also be taken by the European Union "in order to guarantee that a single currency brings prosperity for all countries and not just for some." In this context, we need to implement "an economic and employment recovery programme that allows the convergence and cohesion between Member States in a process that positively discriminates Outermost Regions such as the Azores."

The call was made by Isabel Rodrigues at the opening session of the international colloquium on Youth Challenges in European Regions, an initiative promoted by the Regional Government and the University of the Azores that brings together youngsters as well as regional, national and international experts for a two-day event at the Ponta Delgada university campus.

Nowadays, Azorean youngsters face unique challenges, ranging from changes in the labour market to social changes and the continuous technological evolution. In addition to the European and global challenges, the fact that the Azores are an archipelago and an outermost region is an obstacle that hinders the mobility of youngsters, the pursuance of higher education studies and the access to labour markets.

Isabel Rodrigues reiterated the call for the civic participation of Azorean youngsters, namely through the provision of "contributions towards the improvement of public policies" that can effectively meet their needs and address the challenges of youth in a European region with the specificities of the Azores.