The fourth edition of the project "Before you Discriminate me, Know me," which began in March with the Roadmap for Equality, covered over 1,200 young people from 11 schools of the archipelago.
Overall, the Roadmap for Equality included three dozens of awareness actions directed to over 600 young people on the islands of São Miguel, Terceira and Pico.
These awareness-raising actions among young Azoreans are intended to clarify the concepts of equality, discrimination and violence, but also to demystify prejudices, stereotypes and representations of gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity and disability. Moreover, these initiatives also aim to inform, prevent and solve situations of dating violence and domestic violence.
In addition to these initiatives, the Government promoted, for the first time, training courses on S. Miguel, Terceira and Pico that were directed to thirty technicians and teachers involved in the project "Before you Discriminate me, Know me." This initiative was intended to provide them with the tools for prevention and combat to discriminatory practices.
The fourth edition of the project is developed in several stages and also includes other activities such as photography marathons, the Equality Tent and an itinerant exhibition featuring the display of artworks presented in the competitions held in previous editions.
The initiative intends to continue the campaign against the multiple forms of discrimination, which began in 2013 and has covered, to date, about 20,500 young people from several islands.
"Before you Discriminate me, Know me!" aims to encourage young people for free participation and the exercise of active citizenship, promote the fight against domestic violence as well as to demystify prejudices, stereotypes and representations of gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity and disability, based on the principle of equality embodied in the Portuguese Constitution.
This project is an initiative of the Government of the Azores, developed through the regional directorates for Youth, Education and Social Solidarity, in partnership with CIPA - Novo Dia Association.