21 Jun Case – CEAP and Education as a Tool for Social Change
People and companies concerned with their environmental, social and corporate governance practices, also known as ESG, are always in the pursuit of strong projects to support, especially those that have the potential to improve lives and the community, as a whole. An example of an initiative with great potential for social change is CEAP, or the Training and Educational Support Center (Centro Educacional Assistencial Profissionalizante), non-profit organization set up in 1985 by students of the School of Engineering of the University of São Paulo, whose activities focus on the technical and professional training of vulnerable and low-income youth of the district of Pedreira, in located in the southern area of the city of São Paulo.
Located between the cities of São Paulo and Diadema, at the margin of the Billings reservoir, the district of Pedreira was once an illegal landfill, and is a typical underserviced area of São Paulo, far from the business and financial center, whose HDI ranks 81 when compared to other São Paulo districts. Ridden by the lack of public services, high crime rates and very few opportunities for personal development, local youth have found, in CEAP, an alternative to “go against the statistics”, according to the lyrics of singer Mano Brown, of Racionais MCs.
The CEAP headquarters – spread out on a built area of twenty-three thousand square kilometers – host robotics and computer programs for 10 to 14-year-old youths, operating on a supplementary education basis, in addition to technical courses in business, computer science and computer networks, and free courses, as is the case of the Vepinho Project, an extra class program offered on Saturday mornings. Together with Instituto Tellus, CEAP has set up a Maker Lab, which allows students to have access to the lab referred to as “Area 21”, whose projects are focused on encouraging youth creativity – and also help them develop their emotional intelligence, through cooperation and problem and conflict resolution. CEAP provided services to over 1,100 youths, by means of online mentoring programs, which were offered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. CAEP was voted the best education non-profit in 2019, according to the Best Non-Profits award, a highly acclaimed accolade that lists the 100 leading third-sector institutions in Brazil.
VBSO Advogados, by means of its pro bono program, advised CEAP in the implementation of the necessary adjustments to the Brazilian General Data Privacy Law (LGPD), as well as in the set up of the Associação de Empresas Amigas do CEAP (ACEAP), association organized to bring together companies that not only support the non-profit with donations, but which also offer job opportunities for youths part of the CEAP program, further contributing towards the social transformation of the community.
To find out more about CEAP and its projects, including on how to support the initiative, please go to https://ceappedreira.org.br/contato/