São Paulo- Non-governmental organisation (NGO) Vaga Lume came in fourth place in the Intercultural Innovation Award, promoted by the United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC). The award is recognition of the Programa Rede (Network Program), which promotes culture among kids and adolescents in São Paulo and the Legal Amazon. The award was granted on Monday (12), in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The Legal Amazon includes the entire states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia and Roraima, and part of the states of Mato Grosso, Tocantins and Maranhão.
Vaga Lume was among the ten finalists in a total of 400 countries enrolled from 70 countries. "The award put us in contact with possible financers and helped promote the project,” said Vivian Rubia, the Partnership director at the NGO. The founder and president of Vaga Lume, Sylvia Guimarães, represented the institution at the event in Doha, including the participation of the UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon. The NGO, headquartered in São Paulo, was the only Brazilian and Latin American organisation among the finalists of the award.
Programa Rede promotes cultural exchange between youths aged 11 to 13 in private schools and other NGOs in the city of São Paulo and youths studying in rural schools in the Legal Amazon. Under theme "Our environment", youths from each region produce works that include handicraft, mock-ups, videos and audios, among others, reflecting the realities in which they live, considering sub themes like the relations with water consumption, for example, for later exchange with students from other regions.
"It is important to bring the talk about the environment so that the youths understand the interdependence. How an action in São Paulo can reflect on the Amazon and how we are all together working for sustainable development,” said Vivian. Apart from the distant exchange of material, Vaga Lume also promotes camps for integration, so that youths from both regions that are participating in the project may meet. The last camp was promoted in the city of Pirenópolis, in Goiás. “The kids are together for five to seven days and have the chance of presenting what they developed throughout the year to their exchange group,” explained the director at Vaga Lume.
The NGO was established in 2001, working on preparing community libraries in the Legal Amazon, and also with the training of educators in that region. In 2005, with a campaign for collection of books for libraries, Vaga Lume promoted exchange of postcards between youths in the forest and those of São Paulo. From then on, the exchange work between projects developed in the North and Southeast gained strength.
In 2011, the Programa Rede assisted 243 adolescents in São Paulo and in the Legal Amazon. In total, over 20,000 youths from both regions were assisted, reaching 19 institutions in the city of São Paulo and 62 rural schools in 13 cities in the Legal Amazon.
Currently, the Programa Rede is financed by private companies, but the NGO is seeking new partners to help maintain its activities with youths. "We are working for the question of cultural diversity to enter the agenda of Brazilian investors,” said Vivian.
Those interested in learning about the Vaga Lume work may view site www.vagalume.org.br.
*Translated by Mark Ament