At the beginning of 2019, the Brazil Salesian Network of Schools invited the Salesian Educational-Pastoral Communities to participate in the "Eu Posso" (I Can) Project, which challenges them to create concrete actions for social change, so that, children, adolescents and young people can be the key players in this process, using the “Design for Change” methodology. In Brazil, the Alana Institute, which is part of the global movement "Design for Change", developed the annual competition "Criativos da Escola" (Creatives of the School), and since then many schools have participated with projects of great importance for their communities.
At the 2021 edition, elementary and high school students and educators were invited to submit social impact projects, competing for prizes worth 2,000 reais to invest in their projects. The winning teams were also named “Creative Ambassadors of the School”.
With the “Charity or Solidarity?” Project, the students of the Salesian educational center in Lins (SP) decided to produce Alternative Supplementary Communication plaques for people with speech and writing disorders, and they shared them throughout the city.
“Ecological pencil” is the name of the project carried out by the students of the educational center of Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ). With plenty of passion and involvement, elementary school students developed a pencil from the waste generated by the use of other pencils. On one of its sides, instead of a gum eraser, these prototypes carry a seed of crotalaria, a plant used in the fight against dengue. Being reduced in size, this eco-friendly pencil can be planted together with the seed and generate, in addition to a new plant, a greater awareness against the disease.
Finally, the project "Shall we pollinate this idea?", by the Salesian institute of Americana, was honored with the global "Rainforest Kids Challenge" award. It consists of an initiative for the protection of bees through an urban meliponary (collection of hives) to support the conservation of this species essential for the food chain and life on planet Earth.
The event of 10 December can be viewed on YouTube.
https://www.infoans.org/en/sections/news/item/14341-brazil-salesian-schools-awarded-in-the-school-creatives-competition#sigProId0bf12224d0