The national parliamentary session for youngsters will take place next month at the São Bento Palace in Lisbon – the seat of Portugal’s parliament and of the Prime Minister’s official residence.

The Youth Parliament programme aims to promote civic education and participation among young people, allowing them to express their opinions on issues that affect them directly.

This year's programme theme is ‘Mental Health among Young People – challenges and answers’, which is particularly relevant due to its increasing prevalence and the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.

As part of Nobel Algarve's participation in the Youth Parliament programme, middle-school students Ana Pilar Soares (9ºA), Rodrigo Cabrita (9ºA) and Joana Silva (9ºB) presented their proposals for promoting mental health among young people at the regional meeting in March. A day later, the secondary students, Raquel Oliveira (10ºA), Beatriz Costa (11ºA), Nicole Coelho (11ºA) and Inês Tomé (11ºA) presented their proposals to other participating secondary schools.

Nobel Algarve was voted among the top three at both middle and secondary school level, and will represent the Algarve in the national session, along with the two other top-voted schools. The middle-school parliamentary session will take place on May 8th and 9th, and the secondary school session on May 29th and 30th, at São Bento Palace.

Head of School at Nobel Algarve British International School Abi Lewis said: “Nobel Algarve is proud to be participating in this programme and I congratulate our students for their success in being selected to represent the Algarve in the national session. As a Globeducate school, part of a global network of 55+ premium bilingual and international schools in 10 countries, we are dedicated to preparing each student to become a global citizen who can shape the world.

“We offer our students many opportunities to gain experience in public speaking and debate, such as the Globeducate Model United Nations competition and participating in the Eco-Schools programme, and we are delighted to be able to take part in Portugal’s Youth Parliament programme – it is an excellent opportunity for young people to learn about democracy, citizenship, and civic engagement.”

For more information, please contact Nobel Algarve British International School by tel. +351 282 342 547, email: info@nobelalgarve.com or see website: www.nobelalgarve.com.