The Council of Government has approved the Regional Plan for Social Inclusion and Citizenship (PRISC), which results from an evaluation process that began in 2022 of the Regional Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion 2018-2028.
“The aim of PRISC is to present proposals and outline an action strategy to promote the effective integration of people in situations of social exclusion and reduce the poverty rate and the risk of poverty in the Autonomous Region of the Azores,” says the statement from the Government Council, which met on Tuesday in Ponta Delgada.
This new plan, expected to run from 2025 to 2028, will now go out to public consultation for 30 days.
According to the Azorean executive, PRISC defines five strategic dimensions that will serve as the basis for determining the measures: Income, Education and Training, Work, Housing, and Health.
“The principles of action include building effective partnerships and networks, coordination between services and institutions, listening to people and identifying their needs, as well as clarity and transparency in the processes, eliminating discretion,” it says.

Housing
As part of the PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan), the green light was given for an investment of more than 31 million euros in the housing sector, which includes infrastructure and the construction of 48 homes in the Terra Chã subdivision, with a base price of 7,838,247.66 euros + VAT, with an execution period of 450 days and the rehabilitation of 92 homes in the Nascer do Sol neighborhood, with a base price of 12,129,987.39 euros plus VAT and the same execution period.
Also listed is the construction of 16 houses in the Sete Cidades subdivision, with a base price of 2.9 million; 17 houses in the São Vicente Ferreira subdivision, for around three million and 22 homes in the Santa Clara subdivision (3.8 million). In addition to these housing investments, there is infrastructure for 32 plots in the Biscoito subdivision in the parish of Feteiras (1.4 million).
In total, 227 housing projects are covered, including 103 constructions, 92 rehabilitations, and 32 plots, for an investment of more than 31 million euros. The government guarantees that it intends to “respond to the needs not only of those most in need, but also of young people and the Azorean middle class who also face difficulties in obtaining decent housing.”

Azores tariff continues
In addition to these decisions, the subsidy for passengers residing in the region, which allows for the “Azores Fare,” was renewed for this year.
The measure represents nine million euros. “This is one of the most successful measures of regional autonomy, since it allows for greater mobility of people and goods between the nine islands, promoting territorial cohesion and a strengthened dynamic of the internal market in the Region, with more than one million residents having benefited from this measure,” argues the Regional Government.
Also approved is the proposal for a regional legislative decree creating the Azorean Private Media Incentive System – SIM.
“SIM aims to support the activity of private entities with headquarters or tax domicile in the region, which act as regional or local media, broadcast by the press, radio, television channels or digital means,” the executive said.
The document is one of the four axes of the “Action Plan for the Azorean Media” recently presented by the government.
Another plan authorizes the region to join the Disruptive&EmergingTechnologyAlliance (DETA), described as “a coalition of governments from various regions and countries that intend to work together to share information, knowledge and best practices on the impact of emerging technologies on public policies.”

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.