The Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, through the Regional Directorate for the Communities, will hold the first 2024 regular meeting of the Regional Advisory Council for Immigrant Affairs (CCRAI) next Monday, April 22, at the Conceição Palace in Ponta Delgada at 10 am.

The CCRAI aims to ensure the participation and collaboration of associations representing immigrants, social partners, social solidarity institutions and other organisations providing social and cultural support to immigrants in defining and coordinating policies for social integration and fighting exclusion.

The first meeting of this body chaired by the Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão, will include the presentation of the “Guide to Hiring Foreign Citizens in the Azores,” preceded by presentations by the president of the Azores Building Industry and Public Works Association (AICOPA), Alexandra Bragança, and the president of the Azores Office of the Association of Hospitality, Restaurants and Similar Services of Portugal, Cláudia Chaves.

The meeting will end with a celebration of Luso-Brazilian Community Day, annually marked on April 22, with the testimonials from two Brazilian immigrants about their integration into Azorean society, namely Eleonora Marino Duarte, from Rio de Janeiro, and Ângela Fernandes, from São Paulo.

Established in 2002, the CCRAI has as its main mission to collaborate in developing social integration policies for immigrants aimed at eliminating discrimination and promoting equal opportunities and participate in the definition of measures and actions contributing to the improvement of immigrants’ living conditions and the defence of their rights.

With the fifth amendment to the Regional Implementing Decree no. 30/2002/A of November 22, through the Regional Implementing Decree no. 36/2023/A, the CCRAI is now made up of the regional directors for the Communities, Education, Social Solidarity, Employment and Vocational Training, Health, and the Promotion of Equality and Social Inclusion. It also includes representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores, AIPA – Association of Immigrants in the Azores, CRESAÇOR –   Regional Cooperative of Solidarity Economy/Migrant Support Office, ASIBA-Association of Brazilian Immigrants in the Azores, the Regional Union of Private Social Solidarity Institutions of the Azores, the Association of Municipalities of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, the National Republican Guard, the Public Security Police, the Criminal Investigation Police and the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum, I.P.

The Azorean Government has implemented a policy aimed at developing initiatives and strategies to promote the full integration of immigrant citizens, acknowledging their active contribution to the enrichment of Azorean society in various areas.