"I think it is necessary for young people to have more awareness of their freedom and their power," Ivan Moreira, a member of Jovens pela Paz, told Lusa. Jovens pela Paz is a global movement that was born within the Catholic community of Sant'Egídio to work on promoting peace and mediating conflicts, and which was formalized in Cape Verde in 2013.

The 28-year-old said that the right to demonstrate is not oppressed in the country, but he considered that it is often "neglected" by the youngest, and there is still a "superficial awareness" of freedom.

Ivan Moreira gave the example of situations that affect communities, without anyone claiming their rights.

In this sense, he encouraged young people to have a "very critical view" of society and "to think for themselves", as Amílcar Cabral, the historical leader of the fight for the liberation of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, used to say.

The movement, with 30 members, wants to help strengthen awareness of freedom and combat violence in neighborhoods of the capital, Praia, where it carries out awareness-raising activities with children, young people and the elderly.

In another part of the city, Adérito Tavares, 35, a member of the social movement "Korrenti di Ativista", considered that April 25 is a date that "needs to be scrutinized", explaining that many people still isolate the Carnation Revolution from other events that are part of the same historical path.

"I think we should do more research, create material, magazines or television programs around it," suggested the member of the non-governmental organization of associations that work with children and young people from the most disadvantaged neighborhoods of Praia.

Adérito considered that, half a century later, "it is unthinkable" to think about the country's state of development without talking about April 25, but he understood that Cape Verde "could be better", especially with regard to freedom, where there is a "weak awareness".

The associative leader criticized the political "polarization" in the archipelago, around the Movement for Democracy (MpD) and the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV).

"The voter is still not aware of what a blank vote is," lamented the young man, who regretted the "little" democratic culture and the "memory of repression" that still persists in the archipelago.

"We want independence, but we remain dependent and vulnerable," said Lenine Mendes, president of the Association of Young Cape Verdean Entrepreneurs (AJEC), created in 2009, and with more than 100 members.

For the young entrepreneur, April 25, 1974, and, later, the country's independence from Portugal, the following year, brought "new opportunities", but several challenges emerged for young entrepreneurs, such as the lack of resources and infrastructure.

All this "together with the dependence on external aid," the associative leader told Lusa, acknowledging that the successive Cape Verdean governments have taken several actions to support the internationalization of young entrepreneurs, but many of them without the desired effect.

"Otherwise, young people would not be hungry for emigration," explained the 37-year-old businessman from Praia, understanding that April 25 and independence had a "significant impact" on the country's economic development, but it remains dependent on tourism, which represents 25% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"We still have a lot to do and the young entrepreneur can be seen as [someone who lives] a mixture of opportunities and challenges," concluded the president of AJEC.

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