The Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for Parliamentary Affairs presented today the new Youth Free Time Occupation Programme (OTL-J), stressing that it "features a series of innovations."
Berto Messias, who oversees the area of youth, stated that nearly "2,500 young people will participate in all sub-programmes in 2018, representing an investment amounting to 500 thousand Euros."
The Regional Secretary spoke at the Tourism and Hotel School, revealing that this year there will be "an increase in the number of young people participating in OTL-J."
"With the new structure, OTL-J will be divided into four sub-programmes: Holiday Occupation, Young Students, Active Youth and a new sub-programme, which is this year's innovation, the Environment and Tourism sub-programme. The latter includes the development of a partnership with the Azores Natural Parks and organisations in the area of tourism," said Berto Messias.
The Regional Secretary stressed that this programme "is not a mere occupation of leisure time, but an initiative that guarantees a set of instruments and tools for young people, which guarantees learning and curriculum enrichment."
Berto Messias urged the 30 youth-related entities attending this presentation to "submit projects that involve young people under OTL-J so that it may continue to be an important reference for young people in the Azores."
For his part, the Regional Director for Youth highlighted the technical aspects of the new OTL-J, a project he considered ”an icon of the Regional Directorate for Youth and the Government of the Azores."
"The new OTL-J enables us to work with young people and for young people. It is not a matter of replacing labour, but of acquiring skills in a non-formal context, through experiences in the field under the guidance of entities," said Lúcio Rodrigues.
The Regional Director also revealed the new slogan - "Show Your Worth" - a statement that aims to "encourage young people to get out of the box and move on."
OTL-J is a programme for young people aged between 15 and 24. The application period runs from April 1 to 30, with the exception of the Young Students sub-programme, whose application period runs from October 1 until the end of November.
For further information, those who are interested should consult the address http://www.otl.drj.azores.gov.pt/.