The Regional Secretary for Education and Culture stated in Ponta Delgada that Azoreanity, whose spirit is a "mixture" of world view and isolation, is synonymous with the "identity and culture" of the Azorean people.
 
"Azoreanity is our identity and our culture. It is no more and no less than a series of ideas and practices of a society that are passed on from generation to generation as an inheritance to forthcoming generations and as a gift of tradition to the modern world," said Avelino Meneses. The government official spoke Saturday on behalf of the President of the Government at the presentation of the book "Domingos Rebelo – Pintura" (Domingos Rebelo - Painting).
 
For Avelino Meneses, it is precisely this "very specific" cultural identity that underpins the foundation of Autonomy and is "essentially" the result of the experience of "more than half a millennium in an isolated environment."
 
"In this era of globalisation, the standardisation of practices and representations creates an artificial uniformity that is averse to acknowledgement of singularities in the archipelago and throughout the world," said Avelino Meneses. According to him, the individualisation of "a cultural identity is an asset" that represents the "moral superiority and material progress" of a community.
 
In his speech, he stressed that Domingos Rebelo, painter and sculptor of Azorean origin, was the author the painting "Os Emigrantes" (The Emigrants). Portraying scenes of everyday life, nature and people, this work contributed to the definition of "Azorean cultural identity."
 
With regard to culture, Avelino Meneses also said that the Regional Government's policies are based on a "basic principle" that "is not a privilege of a dozen scholars and intellectuals." Likewise, "it is not solely pursued in schools, institutes and academies."
 
For the Regional Secretary, the concept of culture, as defended by Teresa Rita Lopes, "is a production dependent on the participation of all of us." In this regard, we warned that "those who ignore it are fooling themselves and mislead the community of their fellow citizens."