9 Islands in Conversation: Ponta Delgada Azores 2027 carried out sounding board meetings throughout the archipelago

The Ponta Delgada  Azores 2027 coordination team started this process in the pre-selection phase, when it travelled throughout the archipelago to meet with artists and cultural stakeholders, and to promote encounters with the community in general. We crossed the 600 kilometres between the islands of Corvo and Santa Maria to present the project, receive contributions for the preparation of the bidbook and map artists and cultural stakeholders. Our aim was to extend various activities—in-person and online—of consultation and participation starting from the city of Ponta Delgada and spreading to the other municipalities of São Miguel and the other islands of the Azores.

After having, in the first stage of the bid, promoted several individual actions with stakeholders from different sectors and group sessions directly aimed at cultural stakeholders, we have gone through the archipelago again in the second phase. This time around, we promoted group sessions that were open to everyone.

These initiatives brought together people from different parts of society, from culture to the environment, as well as to education, urbanism, social action and tourism, among other, and it was their contributions that helped prepare the bidbook for the European Capital of Culture. In total, we met about 700 people.

Below you will find the video of our passage through the archipelago in 2022, as well as three videos that show our journey through the islands of Faial, Terceira and Graciosa, in 2021.