United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

EDUCATION

Worldwide

Brazil

Brazil has been a member of UNESCO since 1946. The Organization opened an office in Brasilia in 1964 which includes regional offshoots in seven of the country's 26 states.

UNESCO is closely associated with large-scale national initiatives such as the Bolsa Família programme, which gives grants to children from disadvantaged families, Abrindo Espaços, which keeps schools and other public places open at the weekend in an attempt to diminish the exclusion of young people, and Proformação, a programme to train teachers.

As of September 2006, the country has 287 schools participating in UNESCO’s Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet).

In Focus

UNESCO International Literacy Prizes: call for nominations open until 30 June 2009

Winners of the 2008 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes from Brazil, Ethiopia, South Africa and Zambia offer inspiring examples of how literacy impacts powerfully on health.

On the theme Literacy and Empowerment, the 2009 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes will reward well-established and innovative practices documenting how literacy skills (basic skills in reading, writing and numeracy) contribute to empowerment, enabling people to better direct and control their lives.

UNESCO invites Governments and International Non-Governmental Organizations maintaining formal consultative relations with the Organization to solicit and submit applications by programmes that promote literacy as a means for nurturing inclusive societies.

More about the 2008 Prize winners

UNESCO International Literacy Prizes

2007 Prize winners

International Literacy Day 2008: Literacy is the best remedy

United Nations Literacy Decade (2003 - 2012)