At the EDP nas Escolas Program (EDP in Schools) begins today (19), delivering school kits to 4 state schools across the state of São Paulo. Overall, 1,900 primary school students in the cities of Guarulhos, Salesópolis, Itaquaquecetuba and Santa Branca will receive support as part of the project.

At the program is being organized by EDP and headed by the EDP Institute, which works alongside city education departments to promote citizenship and improve learning environments, providing tools to improve learning experiences, promote closer integration between arts and energy, train teachers and encourage school community engagement. This year, over 9,500 students from 47 schools across 9 states will benefit from the program.

At the project will include a variety of initiatives throughout the year. The first step is to distribute school kits that containing essential items students need at school. Another initiative is the Art with Energy Contest and this year’s theme is Nour Energy to build a better future. This part of the project aims to encourage students to think about SDGs - Sustainable Development Goals. Students will meet in groups and each group will be tasked with developing a community initiative, using photographs as a mean of artistic expression to document each project. A book of students’ photographs will be published at the end of the year.

Additionally, the Theater in Schools program will travel to all schools involved in the Program during the second half of the year. EDP in Schools will also train all teachers at participating schools, supplementing their social and emotional skills.

“EDP in Schools is one of the longest-running programs at the EDP Institute. It aims to educate, help improve education indices and organize initiatives and events that engage students and their communities”, said Paulo Ramicelli, a board advisor at the EDP Institute.

EDP in Schools adheres to the BNCC - Common National Base Curriculum. School principals have said the Program made a significant contribution towards Educational Performance in 2018, encouraging reading and writing and raising awareness about human values among the school community.

School kit distribution in São Paulo

School kits will be distributed to students starting Tuesday (19). The project will provide students with backpacks, notebooks, pencils, sharpeners, pens, glue and a range of other items.  Each distribution event will be attended by officials from each City Hall and Education Department, as well as EDP and EDP Institute representatives.

EDP in Schools

Since 2002, EDP has been running EDP in Schools and worked alongside city education department to support educational development in its concession areas, implementing initiatives to increase the quality of student life at state schools that promote citizenship activities and help improve the school environment.

EDP has invested around R$ 5 million in the project, which has helped over 200 thousand students in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, Tocantins, Espírito Santo, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Ceará and Bahia.

EDP in Schools also trains teachers from participating schools to increase awareness of community values and citizenship; energy and consumption; and solid waste management, so that students can spread the lessons they learn outside the classroom.

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 Services. It also operates 6 hydro power plants and one thermal power station. Its Distribution area serves around 3.4 million customers in Sao Paulo and Espírito Santo. The Company recently acquired a stake in CELESC, from 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.

Since its foundation in 2008, the EDP Institute has invested over R$ 100 million in social and cultural projects that have benefitted around three million people, through around 400 programs across the country. In 2018 alone, the organization’s initiatives benefited 80 thousand residents living in communities in the Company concession areas. 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.