São Paulo, educational city

The city offers an  immense repertoire of spaces and resources for schools which want to work with Global Dimension’s concepts, either in its positive aspects - what we’ve already done – or in its challenging aspects – what we have still to accomplish. Good examples of Cultural Diversity and Global Citizenship can be observed here: Arabs and Jews, Turks and Armenians, Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese   live and work in peace in neighborhoods such as Bom Retiro and Liberdade; in the metro (tube) stations and in art galleries it is possible to find artistic manifestations from the most diverse regions of the planet. The 45 Centers of Unified Education- CEUs, built in the poorest outskirts of the city, offer basic education, culture, art and sports to thousands of people. ( see   www.cidadededesaopaulo.com;www.parqueibirapuera.org; www.pinacoteca.org;www.masp.art.br; http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/centroeducacionalunificado o; www.mylittlebrasil.com.br – these and other sites can be found here in the section Links)

At the same time, with its 6,5 million of automobiles polluting the air and its 1,3 million of citizens living in shantytowns (favelas), S. Paulo shows  in a conspicuous  way  how much its lacking in order that Human Rights, Social Justice and Sustainability can be completely respected in benefit of citizens of all neighborhoods and regions of the city.  Oded Grajew, a Brazilian entrepreneur who is one of the creators of the World Social Forum and coordinates the Network Nossa São Paulo (Our São Paulo) - www.nossasaopaulo.org.br, affirms: “The metropolis is deeply unequal”.

He reminds that São Paulo is divided in 96 districts with around 110 mil inhabitants each and in 44 districts there is no public library, while in 56 of them there is no public equipment for practicing sports. The percentage of homes with no sewage is 44 greater in the Cidade Ademar district than in the central Sé district. 

For Grajew, “From an ethical, moral and economic perspective, there is nothing more unsustainable than inequality. It is in the origin of all problems that affect the population’s quality of life”. Quality education can assist in changing this reality, through small actions in which students put into practice what they learn in the classroom the schools which are involved in the Global Curriculum Project are a part of this movement.

But if we want a fair São Paulo, everyone must participate. (See also Plan SP 2040, one more invitation to shape our own future. www.sp.2040.net.br)