Education Department, City of Belém
After the election of a left wing mayor in 1997, the Education Department began a series of programs dedicated to improving the quality of life in Belém’s favelas. This work has taken great strides in the elimination of youth homelessness and to make poor children feel like valuable citizens. It has also made the city more inclusive and reformed the school system.
The Education Department runs a great number of programs, but five specifically address youth homelessness and street culture. Click below to read an essay on each of these programs:
- Cores de Belém (education for graffiti artists)
- Lazer (creating recreational opportunities in the favelas)
- Sports School
- Project Dança
- Cabana School (educational reform)
Each of these projects begins with the idea of “community action,” meaning that the neighborhood must take the lead in developing and implementing the service. The city serves as a catalyst for action and trains local leaders, but everyone understands that the community is in charge. These projects are advanced by the City Congress, a sort of town hall meeting where everyone who lives in Belém can present proposals and vote.
The Education Department contributes research and training to this endeavor. They help communities to learn about themselves: What do they need? What resources do they have? What are the community’s weaknesses? The Education Department calls this “dialogue pedagogy,” where everyone learns from everyone else. Every two weeks, all the Department trainers get together for a serious workshop on politics and pedagogy. During Shine a light’s visit, the 60 educators were discussing the lessons that Gramscian philosophy held for popular education.
The city of Belém is part of a network of left wing governments, so they understand that the election of a new mayor can mean the end to creative programs like those of the Education Department. As such, the Department does all that it can to root these projects in civil society, so that if a new mayor comes to power, individual communities will continue to do the same work.
Secretaria Municipal de Educação; Coordinação de Esporte, Arte, e Lazer
Avenida Almirante Barroso 2174
Marco, Belém, PA 66060 230
91 276 3493
Contacto: Fátima Monteiro (“Macapá”), macaesport@bol.com.br
