The group of students from the School of New Technologies of the Azores composed by Ana Amaral, Olívia Taveira and Tatiana Teves won the first edition of the "Azores: Sea of Cultures" Contest, announced the Regional Directorate for Communities.

An initiative of the Azorean Government promoted by the Regional Directorate for Cultures, the contest was held under theme of immigration in the Azores. It aimed to encourage young Azorean students to enhance their knowledge on this issue in the Region. The contest emphasised cultural diversity and interculturalism as key factors for the full integration of immigrant communities in the Azorean society by promoting the use of new communication and image technologies.

This initiative was targeted at 10th and 11th form students enrolled at regional schools as well as at students attending level 4 vocational training courses.

Students participated in groups of three under the guidance of a teacher in charge of the development of the works. They were presented on video format as a journalistic, historical and creative report.

The winning work portrays the Azores as a space that welcomes diversity and sets aside racial and cultural discrimination. It was developed based on various testimonies of immigrants from Brazil, China and Italy, who are currently residing on the island of São Miguel.

Having several Azorean scenarios as background, the winning report focused on the overall context of immigration in the Azores as well as several on aspects regarding the migratory path of each immigrant.

The reasons for leaving their country, their arrival and integration in the Azores, and the expectations about the future were some of the topics focused on this work.

The winning team will be awarded a trip to Lisbon and Geneva. While visiting the Swiss city, they will have the opportunity to visit several international institutions in the area of migration, including the headquarters of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The contest involved the participation of 11 groups of students from schools on the islands of Santa Maria, São Miguel, Faial and Pico. The jury was composed by representatives of the Regional Directorate for Communities, the Azores Immigrant Association (AIPA) and Cresaçor - Community Immigrant Support Centre, film director Manuel Bernardo Cabral and journalist Rosário Quaresma (RTP/Açores).