The Regional Director for Sea Affairs highlighted the organisation of seven awareness-raising session with secondary students from Pico and Faial to "disseminate the importance of lifesavers for bathing safety" as well as the need for specific training in this activity.
Filipe Porteiro emphasised that people qualified as lifesavers provide a "relevant service" in regional bathing areas. They "promote the safety of bathers and the quality of these areas for bathers and tourists, who are increasingly enjoying the unique beauties of the archipelago's beaches and natural pools."
This initiative resulted from the collaboration between the Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs, the municipalities of São Roque do Pico, Lajes do Pico, Madalena and Horta, the Port Authorities of Horta, the Lifesaving Association of the Azores, the São Roque do Pico and Lajes do Pico Basic Education and Secondary Schools, the Cardeal Costa Nunes and Manuel de Arriaga Secondary Schools, and Pico and Horta Vocational Training Schools.
The Regional Director added that there are three planned lifesaver courses on the islands of Terceira, Santa Maria and São Miguel.
The courses will be held by the Portuguese Lifesaving Federation in collaboration with the Lifesaving Association of the Azores from April 5 to May 18 in Praia da Vitória, from May 1-30 in Vila do Porto, and from May 14 to June 22 in Ponta Delgada.
Further information is available at the address www.fepons.org/?fepons = page & pagina_id = 20.
In order to attend these courses and others that may be scheduled, those who are interested should contact the services of the Port Authorities, the Maritime Delegation of the island of residence or the Lifesaving Association of the Azores (www.acoresansa.pt/a-ansa).
The Regional Directorate for Sea Affairs, as last year, will support the enrolment of the trainees, thus encouraging an increase in the number of lifesavers in the archipelago's bathing areas.