Parental Education Programmes to cover 300 people in 2020 with 32 actions, announces Andreia Cardoso
The Regional Secretary for Social Solidarity announced in Arrifes, municipality of Ponta Delgada, that the Parental Education programmes, developed under the Regional Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion, comprise 32 actions planned for this year on the islands of Faial, Pico, Terceira and São Miguel. They are expected to cover about 300 people.
Andreia Cardoso spoke at the "Safe Internet Discussion Forum." On the occasion, she revealed that these programmes, in their different axes, “have already covered 1,598 parents, caregivers or other parental figures and 1,745 children on the islands of Graciosa Terceira, Faial, Pico and São Miguel.”
“If, in a first phase, the training was solely aimed at parents and parental figures, there was a need, over time, to respond to other needs identified in other contexts, namely in foster homes and also in the school context," said the government official.
“Last year, we continued to innovate and extended these Parental Education programmes to the context of promoting the mental health of preschool aged children,” added Andreia Cardoso.
The Regional Secretary also recalled the implementation of the "Positive Parenting Workshops" on the island of Graciosa in 2019, “an initiative aimed at pregnant women, mothers, fathers and other parental figures with children up to the age of six. It is also being held on the island of São Jorge and will soon be extended to the island of Santa Maria.”
According to Andreia Cardoso, "32 Parental Education actions are planned this year for the islands of Faial, Terceira, Pico and São Miguel, which will reach about 300 people."
“We know that being a parent or a parental figure today is not easy, but, within the reach of our powers, we want you to regard the Regional Government as a partner who shares with you the desire for your children to grow up harmoniously so that later on they will be adults of whom we can all be proud," stressed the Regional Secretary.
The "Safe Internet Discussion Forum" is an initiative promoted by the Arrifes Local Development and Social Cohesion Centre to mark the Safe Internet Day. It is directed to parents or other parental figures of children and young people.
Andreia Cardoso stressed that this initiative aims to "address a need felt by the community in general," which concerns the difficulty of fathers, mothers or other parental figures to protect minors from the risks associated with the use of the Internet, mitigating its negative effects.
"We are here today with the aim of promoting the use of the internet in a safe and responsible manner, raising the community's awareness for the need to be vigilant and using the Internet correctly and safely," said the government official.
This initiative was carried out in partnership with the Support Network for Victims of Domestic Violence and Women at Risk of São Miguel, which intends to ensure networking with victims of domestic violence as well as with women in other risk situations.
The Safe Internet Day aims to promote the conscious, responsible, critical and creative use of information technologies, especially among children and young people, but also to raise the awareness of the community in general to play its role with a view to creating a better Internet.