Students Attend the Closing Ceremony of UP with English Cantagalo, Pavão-Pavãozinho at Espaço Criança Esperança RJ

Rio de Janeiro, July 19, 2012

1. Henrique Rzezinski, Amcham; Monica Szwarc, Bridge; Andressa Christina da Silva, UP with English graduate; Dennis Hearne, U.S. Consul General, and Ítalo Mazzoni, IBEU President. 2. Group (ECE-RJ)

On July 18, 33 students from the underserved communities of Cantagalo and Pavão-Pavãozinho had reason to celebrate: they took part in the closing ceremony of UP with English, an English language program created by the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro in partnership with binational center IBEU, Espaço Criança Esperança, the American Chamber of Commerce and BG Brasil.

Launched in August 2010, UP with English Cantagalo was the first English language program in pacified favelas (slums) developed by the Consulate and IBEU.  Since then the program has been implemented in three other underserved communities in Rio, and has been supported by private sector investment.  The Consulate has since brought the program to Salvador, Bahia, and Vitória and Vila Velha in Espírito Santo and has benefited more than 300 youth.

In addition to learning English with a focus on the practical use of the language, the students took part in employability-related discussions.  U.S. Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, Dennis Hearne, highlighted the importance of English as another tool young people will have in order to take advantage of the opportunities in the job market.  He mentioned that the program was created to add value to the pacification process that is helping several favelas to be reintegrated into society.

The event was hosted by Jairo Coutinho, Espaço Criança Esperança’s General Coordinator, and some of the guests were Ítalo Mazzoni, President of IBEU, Henrique Rzezinski, Vice President of Corporate Affairs of BG E&P do Brasil and President of Amcham, and Monica Szwarc, General Manager of Bridge.  At the end, Monica announced the name of the student who won a scholarship to study English in the U.S. for two and a half months: Andressa Christina da Silva.  Andressa said she was very happy with the chance to improve her English and to get to know a different culture.  The scholarship is being offered by Bridge in partnership with the Consulate, who will help prepare Andressa for the trip, so that she can take full advantage of this intercultural exchange opportunity.