The Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for Parliamentary Affairs stated today that education is "a very important pillar of democracy," thus reiterating the Regional Government's commitment to a "quality public education."
Speaking at a session of the Youth Parliament, held in Horta, Isabel Rodrigues stressed that the universal access to education brought by democracy "has significantly reduced illiteracy and school dropout levels."
The Regional Assistant Secretary emphasised the importance of this initiative insofar as it links education to political participation. The government official spoke to 79 students from 38 secondary and vocational training schools across the archipelago, who took up the role of members of the Regional Parliament for a day to discuss the theme "Public and Private Education - which challenges?"
In this context, the Regional Secretary defended that this component of civic participation allows citizens to take an active role in the development of public policies and the decision-making process. Hence, it should be encouraged from an early age, taking into consideration that "our quality depends on the levels of participation."
"In addition to being a constitutionally recognised duty, political participation is also a duty of us all. We have the duty to provide our contribution and participate with our skills and knowledge in policy-making decisions that will affect the entire community," said Isabel Rodrigues.
The Regional Secretary considered that political participation also provides a contribution to the community, stressing that "this is a selfless contribution for the benefit of society and a way of working for the common good."
"However, this participation should be responsible and demanding because it contributes to a more determined commitment of those holding public office and requires greater transparency and commitment in the performance of our public duties," added the government official.
Before an assembly made up of youngsters, Isabel Rodrigues noted that "as regards to gender representation in this assembly, we can say that today it is much more balanced than what we would usually find, either in the regional parliament or in the national parliament, or even in many parliament houses throughout the world."
"I hope this is a sign that young girls, who will be women in the future, will dedicate themselves to civic and political participation because we need to balance gender representation, not only in political bodies but also in all levels of political participation. Therefore, I want to express my satisfaction because, indeed, this is an unusual situation at the meetings held at this assembly," said the Regional Secretary.
The Youth Parliament project is a partnership between the National Assembly, the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores and the Government of the Azores.