Three hundred thousand euros will be invested in cultural projects and activities by the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N) to non-professional agents or professionals who do not get state funding. From a total of 304 applications, 132 cultural projects will be provided with direct support, and indirect support will also be provided to 54 philharmonic or traditional music bands.
The Norte Pontual program, which is "100% approved for 2024" and for which "financing will be fully implemented by the end of the year," is at issue, according to a statement from the CCDR-N. The CCDR-N highlights the following disciplinary areas among the financed projects: books and reading (24), popular culture (10), theatre (12), visual arts (12), cinema and multimedia (11) and music (40 approved applications).
The projects under consideration include one for the valorisation of the ancestral rituals of Bemposta, in Mogadouro, by Maschocalheiro, and three initiatives aimed at promoting the Mirandese language, promoted by local associations in Miranda do Douro. It would be "recognised that the cultural and artistic sector in the North justifies greater support in the future," the person in charge stated, despite the sum put up for bidding increasing by about 100,000 euros over 2023.
The North Region's intermunicipal areas are all supported by Norte Pontual, which focusses its support on 38 percent of projects in the Porto Metropolitan Area, 15 percent in Douro, 14 percent in Trás-os-Montes, 10 percent in Cávado, and the same amount in Ave, followed by Tâmega, Sousa, Alto Minho, and Alto Tâmega.