At the partnership between the EDP Institute (IEDP), an association that organizes EDP’s social and environmental activities in Brazil, and the Ayrton Senna Institute resulted in high quality public education reaching over 45 thousand state school students in Tocantins. In 2017, students and education professionals participated in activities geared towards Integral Education, developing social and emotional capabilities that include collaboration, creativity and self-confidence, among others.

At the initiative, organized in partnership with the Education, Youth and Sports Departments of Tocantins and sponsored by Investco and Enerpeixe, both part of the EDP Group, has benefitted children and young adults in state-run schools in 85 cities as part of a collaboration between the State Government of Tocantins and municipal education departments. The partnership trained over two thousand professionals, including teachers, teaching coordinators, school administrators and administrative staff, on educational management tools and methodologies.

Luis Gouveia, director of the EDP Institute, said “the partnership with the Ayrton Senna Institute offers great synergy with the work we do. These actions include concepts and abilities that are valued and supported by IEDP in the various initiatives sponsored throughout our 10-year lifetime”.

“IEDP’s commitment to education was crucial in helping meet the goals we set for our work in Tocantins in 2017. Having committed partners that are willing to reshape the lives of thousands of children and young adults is a daunting task, however, in IEDP we have the perfect pairing to guarantee the quality of our work at a very strategic location. We are certain that this is only the first step and that this cooperation will be fruitful and long-lasting”, said Thiago Fernandes, business director at the Ayrton Senna Institute.

Work methodology

Athree educational solutions were made available to ensure the goals set by the National Education Plan (PNE) were achieved across the state of Tocantins: The “Se Liga” program promoted literacy among students in Elementary School who had yet to learn how to read and write; The “Acelera Brasil” program helped students with age-grade discrepancies to recover up to two lost school years and return to an age-appropriate school year; and the “Circuito Campeao” program, which specifically contributed to literacy among the lower grade Elementary School students.

A diagnosis was carried out at the beginning of the school year in order to identify each student’s level of education and place them in educational programs aligned with their needs. The students’ progress was then monitored by a team of coordinators from the education departments.

At the annual results report published by the Ayrton Senna Institute on the work carried out in 2017 corroborated the programs success and highlighted the achievements obtained through the partnership with the EDP Institute.Of the 43 thousand students enrolled in the first five years of Elementary School who participated in the “Circuito Campeao” program, 92.8 % were approved and 96 % of third - year students learned to read and write.The age\ / grade discrepancy correction programs “Se Liga” and “Acelera Brasil” assisted 1.7 thousand students,while the “Se Liga” program reached a literacy rate of 91.2 % . & nbsp;The “Acelera Brasil” program achieved similar results,as around 93 % of students were approved and 66.3 % of the class jumped at least one school year.

“The established class routine supports each student’s time and knowledge management, making them feel appreciated and motivated. Another differential is motivating the student towards building academic  independence via a classroom poster tracking monthly performances”, says Maria Aparecida Pereira, educational coordinator at the Daniel Berg School in Araguatins.

Since 2002, EDP has contributed to educational development in its operational regions through initiatives that are planned to increase the quality of each student’s public school life, via citizenship activities and improvements to the school environment. In the state of Tocantins, 1,285 children from eight different schools benefitted from the EDP in Schools program in 2018.

About EDP and IEDP

EDP has over 20 years’ experience and is one of the biggest private-sector companies operating across the entire value chain. The Company has over 10,000 direct and indirect staff and is involved in Energy Transmission, Sales and Solutions. It also operates 15 hydro power plants and one thermal power station. Its Distribution area serves around 3.4 million customers in Sao Paulo and Espírito Santo. Recently, the company also acquired a stake in CELESC, which is based in Santa Catarina. In Brazil, the company is noted for its Innovation, Governance and Sustainability and has been included in the B3 Business Sustainability Index (BSI) for 12 consecutive years.

At the EDP Institute is responsible for structuring EDP’s social investments and initiatives, focusing on areas linked to promoting the Portuguese Language, education and local development alongside income generation, entrepreneurship and volunteering through sports, culture and health.  35 projects were approved in 2017, benefitting 60 thousand people.

About the IAS

For over 20 years, the Ayrton Senna Institute has contributed to broadening opportunities for children and young adults through education. Our mission is to develop human beings who are prepared for all aspects of life in the 21st century. Driven by the desire of three-time Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna to build a better Brazil, we partner with public administrators, educators, researchers and associations in order to develop evidence-based educational policies and practices. We are constantly innovating and continuously exploring new knowledge to meet the challenges of an ever-changing world.

Using as baseline the main educational challenges identified by administrators and educators in our day-to-day activities, we produce, articulate and validate critical insights to further drive educational quality alongside the public school system. All the resulting knowledge is shared with other players via training, distribution, technical cooperation and technology transfer institutions.

O ur activities are funded by donations, licensing and private sector partnerships. Our Elementary School and Second School initiatives operate in 16 states and approximately 600 cities, supporting training for around 45 thousand professionals per year and the academic education of over 1.5 million students annually. www.institutoayrtonsenna.org.br