The Regional Director for Communities launched a challenge to youngsters of Azorean descent to enhance their knowledge on the social and cultural reality of the Azores by "actively participating in their communities and developing projects to strengthen the ties between the diaspora and the Azores."

Paulo Teves welcomed a group of youngsters of Azorean descent from the United States of America, who are visiting the Azores under the contest "Azores: 9 Islands, 9 Stories." The government official stressed the importance of organising initiatives related to emigration that, on the one hand, promote the knowledge on the history of the Azores and their people and, on the other hand, highlight the important role played by the Azorean community residing in that country.

"The Azores wish that youngsters of Azorean descent become the true ambassadors of our language and culture, the Regional Director said, adding that this mission "is a responsibility towards the future, thus honouring the legacy of thousands of emigrants who left the Region and the country."

"By joining this initiative, the Government of the Azores aims to promote the Azorean reality among youngsters of Azorean descent in terms of cultural experiences, with special emphasis on the Region's specificities and potentialities," stressed Paulo Teves.

In order to achieve this goal, the Regional Directorate for Communities developed a programme for the visit of a group of youngsters to the islands of S. Miguel, Faial and Pico between July 7 and 14. The group is composed by the following members: Lauren Silva, Miguel Almeida, Soraya Mortagua, Alanis Guinada, Andrea Cerdeira and Daniella Pinho.

On the island of S. Miguel, youngsters had the opportunity to visit the Centre of Volcanology and Seismic Risk Assessment at the University of the Azores, the Furnas Monitoring and Research Centre, the Azores Volcanological and Geothermal Observatory, the Carlos Machado Museum and "Caldeira Velha" (thermal water pool).

On the island of Faial, the group visited the Environmental Centres of the island's Natural Park, the Porto Pim Aquarium, the Dabney Residence, the "Caldeira" and the Capelinhos Volcano Interpretation Centre. In turn, the programme for the island of Pico featured the "Casa da Montanha" (Mountain House), the Gruta das Torres Visiting Centre, the Vineyard Culture Landscape Interpreting Centre, the Whaling museums as well as the Whaling Industry and the Wine museum.

Developed by the Government of the Azores in partnership with the North American Portuguese Teachers Association (APPEUC) and SATA Internacional, the contest "Azores: 9 Islands, 9 Stories" was addressed at students enrolled at Portuguese community schools in the USA and at public secondary schools that have formally included Portuguese language and culture courses in their curricula.

The initiative aims to promote and encourage the study of Portuguese through the presentation of papers written in Portuguese about the Azores.