“Põe-te em cena” (Show yourself) is the name of a programme created by the Government to support the dissemination of youngsters’ works that was announced by the Secretary of the Presidency in Praia da Vitória on Wednesday.

As André Bradford explained during a visit to the Terceira Youth Academy, this is a project that follows “LabJovem,” an initiative intended to promote youth creativity in several artistic domains.

 “Labjovem” aimed to promote “the ideas of youngsters,” however its implementation demonstrated that these ideas were acknowledged, such as the skills of their authors, “but youngsters faced difficulties taking the next step, which concerns the production of works - in the field of music, literature, photography, video and cinema - to be placed in the market, allowing them the possibility of having a career.

Supporting the dissemination of these works is main goal of the “Põe-te em Cena” programme, which will establish a partnership with the Youth Academy through a protocol since according to André Bradford, this institution “has the necessary tools to record an album, put a play on stage, create a work of art or a software programme.”

On the occasion, another protocol was signed by the Government to co-fund the training plan of the Youth Academy in the amount of 25,000 Euros. For the Regional Secretary this is an “ambitious project” that encourages the creativity, training and employability of youngsters “from Praia da Vitória, Terceira and the Azores in general.”

The Academy are “a hotbed of creativity” and the Government has supported “this initiative since the very first time,” co-financing the construction of its premises in the amount of 1 million Euros. In this context, the Government acknowledges that the Praia da Vitória City Hall, “contrary to other Azorean municipalities,” has developed “a youth structural policy,” creating the necessary infrastructures so that youngsters “may turn their programmes, ideas and projects into reality,” stressed the Regional Secretary of the Presidency.

The training plan of the Terceira Youth Academy comprises areas related to the new communication and information technologies, such as multimedia, video, software and sound design. These areas are particularly “suited for youth employment and training,” providing qualification and employment in areas that “are highly sought-after these days,” stated André Bradford.