São Paulo – Showcasing Brazil, its history, geography, culture, and traditions to children and adolescents in Lebanon. That is the purpose of program O Brasil nas Escolas (Brazil at School), organized by the Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Centre, in Beirut. “Schools are a major vector through which we can spread information on Brazilian culture,” says Rose Marie Romariz Maasri, the centre’s director.
The program started in October last year and has reached more than 300 students in ten different schools, including elementary school students aged 9 to 12 and adolescents who are in high school. In some cases the students go to the cultural centre, and on other occasions representatives of the cultural branch of the Brazilian embassy in Lebanon go to the schools to spread information on Brazil.
The activities held at the centre include screenings of Brazilian cartoons and children’s films, such as Brasil Animado and Tainá 2 . “We discuss the environment, the Amazon, Indians, nature in Brazil. We also have the children answer a questionnaire. Then we serve cheese bread and guaraná,” says Maasri.
Material produced by the Brazilian embassy in London is being adapted for use in school activities, with contents ranging from geography, culture, tourism and sports to industries, economy and globalization. “It is a wide-ranging material. We will take it to as many schools in Lebanon as we can,” says the director.
The material will first be presented to 20 Lebanese teachers who will act as facilitators to spread the contents in public and private schools. The final goal, however, is much wider: 12,000 CDs, translated into Arabic, will be recorded and distributed in Beirut schools.
Maasri comments on the topic that commands the most student interest. “Soccer is by far the most important thing for them, so we use it as a hook to boost their knowledge (about Brazil),” she explains.
In addition to conveying information about Brazil to Lebanese students, the centre is also contacted by schools looking for subsidies to carry out projects related to the country. “We give them the subsidies and they execute the projects. At one time, a school even produced a theatre play complete with costumes and allegorical cars,” she says.
Institutions interested in joining the O Brasil nas Escolas program may call the Brazil-Lebanon Cultural Centre at the following numbers: +961 1 322 905/6/7. The program is also open to schools for children with special needs.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
