European Commissioner meets with Young People in Porto to discuss the contributions of the Young People’s Addendum to the Porto Santo Charter to the Cultural Compass

On July 9, the European Commissioner for Intergenerational Equity, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, made his first official visit to Portugal. As part of this visit, the Portuguese National Plan for the Arts (PNA) organised a lunch meeting in Porto to present the Young People’s Addendum to the Porto Santo Charter — Caldas da Rainha / Loulé . The session focused on actively listening to priorities for the development of the European Cultural Compass—the European Commission’s new strategic instrument to guide EU cultural policy.

 

 

MCA Policy Advisor Marco Fiore participated to this lunch, as one of the participants who originally drafted the document in April 2024.

Commissioner Micallef met with a group of young people who participated in the creation of the Addendum, a project led by the PNA in partnership with the UNESCO Chair in Arts and Culture Management, Cities and Creativity at the Polytechnic of Leiria, the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI), and more than 50 other organizations and 350 young participants from across Europe. The meeting aimed to directly hear from young people about their proposals and concerns regarding culture, citizenship, and intergenerational justice.

The dialogue provided an opportunity to deepen engagement with the young contributors, acknowledging their essential role in shaping more participatory and representative cultural policies. These policies seek to foster full cultural citizenship where youth feel they have both voice and place.

Participants emphasized the need to transform current approaches to civic participation. “Change the methods” they stressed, “if we are to achieve truly diverse and innovative processes and outcomes.” They called for active listening across different communities and territories, promoting inclusive debate around varying perspectives and priorities.

Key themes raised included: cultural workers rights; the importance of youth advisory councils as tools for advancing intergenerational equity; the need for a more current, critical, and inclusive understanding of cultural heritage, particularly how Generation Z engages with it; and the empowerment of youth in democratic participation.

The event included three youth rapporteurs of the Addendum: Inês de Carvalho Costa, Jade Nunes, and Marco Fiore. Also present were members of the PNA Executive Committee, Paulo Pires do Vale and Sara Brighenti; UNESCO Chair coordinator Lígia Afonso; intermunicipal PNA coordinator Joana Félix; and from the European Commission Representation in Portugal, Head of Representation Sofia Moreira de Sousa, Digital Leader Sofia Trindade, and Desislava Dimitrova from the Commissioner’s office.

This visit marks a significant step in integrating youth perspectives into the shaping of the European Union’s cultural priorities, reinforcing a commitment to a more equitable, democratic, and culturally inclusive Europe.