The Azorean Government intends to increase the proximity to migrant communities residing in the archipelago and the Azorean communities around the world, said the regional director of Communities at the ceremony to celebrate the International Migrants Day.

"It is our purpose to promote a proximity work with all Azorean communities, with the more than 80 different nationalities living in the Azores, and learning with the experience of returned emigrants for a better and wider integration policy," stressed Paulo Teves at the ceremony held in Santa Cruz da Graciosa last Sunday.

The Regional Director said that "all may rely on the Government of the Azores as a strategic partner in the integration and preservation of the cultural identity of all people, regardless of where they come from and where they are."

Similarly, the government official stressed the emigration history of the Azores as fundamental to the integration of immigrants in the Region insofar as the knowledge on the emigration experience contributes to a successful integration of immigrants in the archipelago.

In recent years, the Regional Government has included the issue of migration in the political and public agenda with aim of highlighting the importance of emigrant and immigrant communities as well as of returned migrants for the Region.

In this regard, Paulo Teves considered that celebrating this day is a tribute to the thousands of Azoreans scattered throughout the world, to those who have returned to their homeland and to all those who have chosen the Azores as their new home.

According to the Regional Director, "the Azores have gained an unprecedented cultural plurality," adding that "the Region from where thousands of people have left in search of new opportunities is now a space of cultural convergence, where new social, professional and cultural networks are created."

The celebration of the International Migrants Day took place on the island of Graciosa with the support of Santa Cruz da Graciosa Town Hall. In previous years, this event was celebrated on the islands of São Miguel, Terceia, Faial and Pico.

The programme featured Russian traditional songs performed by Olena Zhuravska Sousa and Alexander Kuklin, Brazilian and Cape Verdean music performed by Sérgio Melo and Daniela Santos, and traditional music from the Azores and Graciosa performed by the Traditional Guitar Group of the "Casa do Povo" of Guadalupe. The event also included the participation of Mainara Silva, a 10- year-old Brazilian girl who lives on Graciosa, who performed traditional Azorean music on accordion.
 
The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families on December 18, 1990.

In 2000, this day was formally proclaimed as the International Migrants Day and since then, it has been celebrated with the purpose of raising the awareness of the international community for the need to protect the rights of immigrants and emigrants around the world.

The Government of the Azores promotes the celebration of this international day, encouraging the healthy coexistence of different peoples and cultures in the archipelago. This event also pays tribute to all Azorean migrants: those who have left the archipelago and those who have chosen the Azores as their new home.