"You're ON! Get informed, Debate and Decide" project kicks off in the Azores
Ponta Delgada
Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego
The Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment, through the Regional Directorate for Youth (DRJ), launched the "You're ON! Get informed, Debate and Decide" project to promote citizenship and media education for young people in light of the dangers of disinformation, fake news and populism.
As Maria João Carreiro explained, this project, approved and co-financed by the Erasmus+ programme, will run for a year and culminate in the "Youth Manifesto for Information and Media Literacy in the Azores."
"Initiatives will be developed to hear young people, including a national meeting that, in addition to young people, will include academics, journalists and political decision-makers in a reflection on the dangers that young people face and the mechanisms to promote critical thinking among young people so that can question, analyse and assess information," she added.
Maria João Carreiro spoke at Domingos Rebelo Secondary School, in Ponta Delgada, during the opening of a session to raise awareness among young people of the importance of the European Elections next June, as part of the national roadshow promoted by the Erasmus+ National Agency.
"The Regional Government welcomes the challenge of youth participation and active citizenship not as a problem, but as an opportunity," she said, emphasising that it was this understanding on the part of the Government that led to the creation of the Regional Plan for Youth Literacy and Democratic Participation - DemocraciAZ.
"We believe the Azores have all the conditions to be a benchmark in youth participation and active citizenship. With DemocraciAZ and other projects and initiatives, such as 'You're ON!', we are trying to foster a growing interest in young people's participation in public life," she said.
The Secretary for Youth also pointed out that the information session organised by the Erasmus+ National Agency and the kick-off of the "You're ON!" project took place during the European Youth Week, which involved more than 100 participants from different islands in the Euroclasses initiative."
