The Government of the Azores will celebrate the Europe Day on Friday, May 9, with the organisation of an initiative that will take at São Roque do Pico Basic Education and Secondary School. The event will also be attended by youngsters from other islands as well as by youngster from seven European countries who are visiting the Azores under the "Comenius" programme (an initiative that aims to improve quality and reinforce the European dimension of education.

The celebrations will begin at 9:15 AM with the solemn hoisting of the Portuguese, Azorean and European Union flags as well as of those from the partners countries in the "Comenius" projects. The ceremony also includes the three respective anthems that will be performed by São Roque do Pico School Youth Orchestra and a release of balloons depicting the flags of the Member States of the European Union.

The celebration programme also includes the "Europe Quiz: the Azores and the European Union," starting at 10 AM. Nine teams, one for each island, will participate in this contest.

The solemn session of Europe Day will take place at 11:30 AM. In addition to the participation of guest speakers, the programme also includes the presentation of best works developed under the "Act, React, Decide: European Elections 2014" contest and the performances of the theatre and dance groups from São Roque do Pico School.

The celebrations of Europe Day will also be attended by 16 students and teachers from Romania, Spain, France, Turkey, Germany, Czech Republic and Greece, who are visiting the island of Pico under the "Comenius" programme. They will host a tasting of traditional products from their countries.

Furthermore, this initiative will promote the socialisation between Azorean youngsters and foreign youngsters. The celebration programme also includes visits to sites of interest on the island of Pico, including the Natural Park, the Vineyard Culture Landscape and “Gruta das Torres,” several museums - Whaling Industry, Pico Wine and Whaling - and the Centre for the Arts and Marine Sciences.

At the farewell dinner, Azorean youngsters will present to their European colleagues a typical costume and a typical product from their islands.
In the context of these celebrations, the Regional Government also promoted the début of the documentary "À Beira da Europa" by Manuel Bernardo Cabral as well as the distribution of information material on the European Union and the encouragement of voting in May 25 elections through several public services. These materials were provided by the Cabinet of the European Parliament in Portugal.

On Friday morning, regional public schools across the archipelago will also hoist the flags of Portugal, the Azores and the European Union.
Those who are interested may watch the celebrations of Europe Day that will be held at the São Roque do Pico Basic Education and Secondary School live on the Internet at the following address: https://new.livestream.com/accounts/7809543/diaeuropa9mai.