Marcelo advocates openness to young people to prevent CPLP from becoming a ‘relic of the past’

The President of the Portuguese Republic this Sunday defended the opening of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) summits to young people in order to prevent the organization from becoming a “relic of the past” or a “showcase of personalities”. .

Speaking at the 14th CPLP Heads of State and Government Conference taking place today in Sao Tome and Principe, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa welcomed the “growing majority of young people” to the organization.

The President of the Republic stated that the CPLP should “not only work for its sustainability, but also give them a more and more active voice, participation in summits, in their summits among ours, in the delayed formalization of their forum, but, above all, in the transformation of their life and their social role, consisting of qualifications, employment, social conditions, exchange, more accelerated generational change.

“Young people need to feel that the community belongs to them, and not just to those who founded it or run it today. It also belongs to them, and more and more, and it changes their lives for the better,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Souza.

The head of the Portuguese state noted that in 2026, when the 30th anniversary of the CPLP will be celebrated, “they will have to become a new generation, if not leaders in society, then at least determining in a significant part of their leadership.”

“I’m talking about women and men born at the turn of this century, immediately before this or immediately after it. I want to see them here, on these peaks, if not in the first row, then in the second, in the third or fourth, or in the hall, away,” he challenged.

The President of Portugal believed that “only in this way does the CPLP never run the risk of becoming a relic of the past or a showcase of personalities from the political and media arena, increasingly distant from our peoples and our youth.”

“We will not let this happen, we will not fail in our meeting with the future,” he assured. In his speech, the President of the Republic left five ideas, noting that “the importance of national and European witness” would depend on the Prime Minister, who spoke shortly after. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa began by congratulating Angola on the CPLP Presidency of Angola for the past two years.

“It is noteworthy that appropriate steps were taken in the economy and diplomacy during a pandemic that stole two years of our lives, an illegal invasion and subsequent war that required efforts to conquer the world, and economic and social crises that stunted growth and implied injustice. and reach the poorest and most dependent people faster and deeper,” he stressed.

Regarding the presidency of Sao Tome, which begins with this summit, the head of state said that it is “courageous in its progress, selflessly fulfills its obligations and deserves all gratitude and solidarity.” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stated that he is “confident” that the Portuguese-speaking community is “more alive, more accessible not only to the universal language, culture, education, science, technology, but also to the economy, diplomacy, peace building, not to give up in everyday struggle for human rights both inside and outside the country, the abolition of the death penalty, democracy, the rule of law, equality, the fight against oppression and exploitation.”

The Portuguese head of state also hailed the “strength” of the CPLP in the “viability of the four presidents elected or re-elected in these two years” and emphasized “to a large extent the return of Brazil to its founding momentum – the Guinean Presidency of the Regional Community, the work of the Executive Secretary, the increase and weight of observers, richness of the declaration and draft resolutions”.

The President of Portugal also stressed this summit’s “commitment” to sustainable development, access to education, health care, social solidarity, climate action and financing, biodiversity, a genuine CPLP pact for the oceans, energy and digital transition, human mobility, in developing more the number of joint positions in the United Nations, regional organizations, summits in the coming months and years.”

The CPLP, an organization comprising Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe and East Timor, is hosting the 14th Conference of Heads of State and Government in Sao Tome today and Principe. under the motto “Youth and sustainable development”.