"If we would like to change something, it's for the children that we should start it. We must respect and educate our children so that the future of our nations and planet be worthy" - Ayrton Senna
Senna, three times Formula 1 champion and considered one of the most significant figures in motorsport, always showed his concerns with education in Brazil and his passion for his home country. He always let it be known that one of his goals in life was to help build a country where young children would be able to succeed in life like he did. After the tragic accident that caused his passing in 1994, Viviane, his sister, decided to turn his wishes into a project and founded Instituto Ayrton Senna in November of the same year.
The Institute
The organization has been around since 1994 and has been running for almost 30 years. The matter of the institute goes around education, especially public education, and has been recognized internationally for its work. It's considered an innovation center with three major fonts: production of research and scientific evidence, mobilization and advocacy, and dissemination on a big scale. Only in the year 2022, the organization was able to reach 2.7 million children, 6.5 thousand schools, and 200 thousand educators.
In 2004, the institute was honored with being recognized as a Cátedra UNESCO, the first ever non-governmental institution to ever receive this acknowledgment, which made possible a partnership in research and the organization of a center to reflect on the references, the value, and quality of the workers of the institute.
Some of its projects
The institute has multiple projects and two of those are EduLab21 and Humane.
EduLab was created as a project to research education going over matters of socioemotional health, creativity, and the construction of critical thinking amongst other topics.
On the other hand, Humane is more focused on formatting teachers and educators. Also offering multiple resources to work such as courses, a library, and socioemotional journeys. In this program, since 2022, the implementation of a digital environment to help these professionals grow is also one of the most sensational ideas settled and implemented by them.
As said before, Instituto Ayrton Senna has a deep focus on the quality of education and its importance all around the world. One of the institute’s strategies is Educação Pelo Esporte (Education through sports) which from its start in 1995 until 2012, had already affected around 90 thousand children all around Brazil. In this strategy, sports are used as a way to develop the teaching and promote inclusion and integration among the students. This has shown significant importance as when implemented it was able to prove, through studies, that students started getting better grades and doing better in school.
Last year, during the time the Grand Prix of Brazil was happening, Lewis Hamilton, seven-time Formula 1 champion, was able to visit one of the schools the institute acts in, the Escola Estadual Lasar Segall. He had the opportunity to talk to multiple students, meet with educators and authorities, and hear some of their stories. Lewis during the time he spent there, stated that "It's necessary to believe in yourself, for everything to be like you want to."
If you would like more pieces of information about the Institute and its projects: visit the following website!
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