Interactivity

Historically, volunteering has been related to financial or social assistance policies, philanthropy and a work specially performed by the society ladies of charity.

It has been greatly influenced by religion, as charity is considered a virtue. In recent years, this work began to be seen as an opportunity for action to promote the general well-being, driven by different social causes.

Volunteering in today’s Brazil goes much beyond compassion and solidarity. It is a great power of social mobilization capable of organizing resources and promoting the strengthening of organizations based on social inclusion and greater social equity.

Although corporate volunteering in the country is still focused on serving at-risk populations, it follows the engagement trend in the promotion of ethics and citizenship. There is a concern with themes related to education, environment, health, culture and rights protection, in addition to ethics and social responsibility.

With the challenges caused by the world recession, volunteering seems to have become stronger.

The issue of social responsibility has emerged as a trend in the evolution of corporate volunteering. The acceleration of the globalization process requires action and engagement with the surrounding community, which goes much beyond the economic aspect. Volunteering is a great power of social mobilization and the trend is to increase more and more the strategic impact on the community for its capacity to change social reality.

On this December 5, created by the United Nations Organization (UNO) as the International Volunteer Day, it is worth noting how important volunteers are, and how, driven by their enthusiasm and energy, they contribute with their professional and personal abilities and skills to an increasingly just and equal society.

By Cecília Carvalho, coordinator of social projects at the Bunge Foundation

The private social investment of the institutes and foundations tied to the private sector is facing a big challenge: to direct actions for the development of those territories where business units are located, avoiding what we call leakage of economic growth.

Have you ever thought about what it costs a company to hire employees in regions far away from industrial units? Or what it means to look for suppliers in other states for maintenance of machinery, for example? When this happens, it means that the community is not right for the business since the resources it is able to offer are scarce – many times restricted only to natural resources. On the other hand, it also means that the company is not right for that community, since it is unable to create jobs and taxes, increase per capita income or attract new investors, for example. This relationship becomes predatory and unsustainable since good business has to be that which benefits all parties involved.

In other words, when a company, through its institutes and foundations, defines, in an integrated manner with the municipalities, investments in health, education and development of entrepreneurs and infrastructure, it is not only supporting the development of the places where it is located and contributing to the quality of life of the local population, but also expanding business development since it increases the ability to attract and maintain labor, the possibility to rely on local suppliers and, primarily, to rely on employees from the region.

In the interior of the state of Tocantins, the Bunge Foundation is working with this model of social investment with the Integrated Community project, developed in the municipalities of Pedro Afonso, Bom Jesus de Tocantins and Tupirama. This is a program for sustainable territorial development which carries out socioeconomic assessment studies, as well as develops an Integrated Management Plan, in order to guide private social investment in a coherent and integrated manner with the communities and needs of each region, with actions developed on three fronts: relations with the community, human and social development and support for public administration. All this work is planned and developed with what we call the Consortium Working Group. It is made up of representatives of the local communities who help us define and implement the improvements they want for their regions.

And anyone who thinks the communities do not know how to set goals, roll up their sleeves and say what they want, is wrong. What they lack is opportunity.

By Cláudia Buzzette Calais - Bunge Foundation Executive Director

In stable environments, when companies were defined and managed as machines, corporate memory was important for recording history, for storing and retelling; this because a stable environment ensured that the future would be a projection of the past. It was a nice thing to have. It was this way until the end of the 20th century.

To ensure their futures in unstable and unpredictable environments, organizations need the skill of rapid adaptability so that the organizations can provide a guarantee to be everlasting, that is, when the future is no longer a projection of the past, corporate memory has to move beyond the recording of the past to ensure a consciousness of corporate identity as a living system in evolution, learning and adapting over time. It is a must have.

Thus, in the 21st century corporate memory becomes a guarantee of continuity and change, like human memory: A relationship in time that produces a living identity capable of adapting rapidly to new and unpredictable environments, a strategic skill that has a great impact on the organization’s market value, because this means that it has the conditions to guarantee future deliveries in an environment of uncertain future.

Time and memory have no strategic significance for machine companies. But they are vital to living systems companies.

By Ricardo Guimarães, president of Thymus Branding, recognized as a pioneer of the branding concept as an approach to the management of companies in markets undergoing constant change.

Buildings – in their form, use and function – are part of a social, economic and cultural context that is constantly changing. Since the changes in housing brought about by the industrial revolution, new construction concepts have appeared which consider health, functionality, flexibility and building processes.

Due to recent historical events, like the current debate over the limits to growth on the planet, building projects have begun to incorporate one more aspect: that of sustainability. This is not surprising considering that 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide are currently associated with civil construction.

Understanding of so-called sustainable development (and of the very concept of sustainability) is becoming more widespread every day. It is no longer restricted to the problem of global warming or energy use resulting from civil construction. On the contrary, every economic sector is expected to make its contribution. This is why it is more and more common to have technical chambers organized by sector. The penalty for omission tends to be severe, with the possibility of a strong downturn in global social and economic activity.

In the case of housing construction or less complex services (like schools that do not need specialized applications), a minimum reduction of close to 20 percent of emissions is possible by applying concepts of rationalization to materials, energy and resources. The establishment of a conceptual design based on aspects of sustainability, even before the architectural design, tends to optimize these results.

A positive example of this approach is the design of a sustainable school for the Bunge Foundation developed by the Indio da Costa AUDT office with our assistance. Starting from a clear and predefined concept, it was possible, without undermining the need for comfort and quality, to develop a design that generates minimal waste during construction and use (solid waste, greenhouse gas emissions, liquid effluents, energy, manpower and maintenance). In the conceptual design of the school, we address the following aspects:

• A balance of mass and energy on the building, defining the potential for reduction of residual gas emissions, energy consumption and liquid effluents;
• Appropriate construction materials, respecting sustainability aspects;
• Optimization of the use of natural resources by improving the building’s relationship with its surroundings (water and energy);
• Minimization of emissions – GHG, gas, liquid effluent and solid waste;
• Comfort and quality.

The end result reached through application of the concept achieved a reduction of 50 percent, compared with normal buildings, in the rate of carbon gas emissions for construction of a school building – very promising results. This difference shows the real possibility of reducing emissions in civil construction, as long as new building models are adopted, contributing significantly to the reduction of global warming.

By Renan Lindner, a chemical engineer for OA Engenharia
Collaboration: João Maró, an architect in the Indio da Costa AUDT office

Why should we protect intellectual property rights? To reward the efforts of authors, whether it’s in the field of recognition (moral rights) or remuneration (property rights). But does it make sense that this protection last the author’s lifetime including a 70-year period after death? If we think about the time when it was common for an author’s work to only be recognized after death, then yes, it makes total sense. But what about in today’s Digital Society, where everything is characterized by the phenomenon of instantaneousness?

Author’s rights have two opposing facets – that of the creator, and that of the user of the work created. In this sense, the law obligates the end user to verify and cite the source of the work. In other words, taking content off the Internet without knowing if it’s protected or not, exposes the end user to legal risks. This is especially true if the content is professional or corporate, or a form of publicity.

Schools are already teaching about Intellectual Property and Image Rights, since students are increasingly completing schoolwork based on Internet searches. The time has come to learn how to properly use and cite content in order to avoid plagiarism and unauthorized use of images, in order to fit into an increasingly restrictive legal reality.

When using digital sources, it’s important to analyze the following factors:

- Where it was found (source)
- Purpose for its use (clear, legitimate end-use objectives)
- Context (properly included)
- Reach (target audience)
- Time (how long will it be used – will it be re-used?)

If we are unclear as to the origin of specific content, or if it carries intrinsic legal use implications, we should avoid its comprehensive use in indeterminate time frames. It’s one thing to footnote a piece of schoolwork as a mere academic reference, it’s quite another to construct material wholly based on digital content and then to distribute it. Citing and distribution are different. Even cultural institutions have to be careful, especially with risks related to the moral rights of authors (such as not being given proper authorial credit).

To avoid the risks associated with use, digital content should be verified through more than one source. If it were a citation from Wikipedia, it’s wise to consult another source to see if the information remains consistent. In the case of photo or image use, which is even more personal, much more care must be taken, since an open search on the web may yield results without authorial protection (ex: versions with “creative commons” licensing). It’s also possible that the person photographed or filmed did not authorize the use of the image, in spite of its presence on the Internet. Especially if the image is of a minor (18 or below) according to the Statute of Children and Adolescence and the current Civic Code, written, formal authorization is required from those legally responsible.

It’s common to find digital content interesting but to be uncertain of its authorship. When this happens, we must always list “author unknown”, and to continue this citation until someone disputes or confirms the authorship. When citing sources, complete links should always be provided, along with time and date since content changes quickly on the Internet, making its validity relative to the time of collection. Those who use online content should keep alert and use best practices in order to avoid legal risks, which could damage far more than just reputation – financial risks and lawsuits could follow. In Brazil, intellectual rights violations have resulted in lawsuits of between R$10 and 100 thousand.

By Dr. Patricia Peck, attorney specialized in Digital Law. (Twitter: @patriciapeckadv)

According to the Dictionary Houaiss of Portuguese Language, a volunteer can be defined as “ the one who dedicates himself to a work without a link of employment , providing help when necessary”. More than that, to be a volunteer is to be available to share time and knowledge, based on the experience that each one brings within himself.

Volunteering represents the redemption of some of the values essential to humanity, as well as the redemption of the cultural value of work-the one that hasn´t anything to do with guaranteeing survival, but is a way to contribute to the well being of society.

Many are the motives that make people start a volunteering work. Starting with the wish to help to solve social problems and inequality, acting through charity and helping the next stimulated by diverse religions, by the need to feel oneself useful and valorized, by the desire to do something different in the day to day, or even to retribute some help that may has been received in the past.

Fact is, that there´s no higher reward than the one for altruistic work. The experience of offering your effort and your knowledge for a bigger cause without claiming for anything in exchange, is enriching, generates personal as well as professional growth. Nothing substitutes the satisfaction of knowing that you are contributing in making a more human world, just and solidary, less inequal, and with more opportunities for everyone, and because of that, there´s a saying that once that a person makes voluntary work, it never can stop again.

A more and more common type of voluntary work is the so called corporate volunteering, in which the company gathers volunteers among its employees around a common objective, with focus, goals and expected results. With this orientation, and counting with the personal involvement and commitment of each volunteer, the work flows in a more efficient way and the company has conditions to achieve results and make a difference for society.

The Bunge Foundation invests and believes in corporate volunteering through projects such as the Educational Community, a sustainable school program that articulates the work of corporate volunteering with the formation of educators. This way, the program contributes to the formation of citizen-students, able in reading and writing, conscious of their role in the present and commited with the future.

Between April 08 and 10, the Bunge Foundation will hold the V National Encounter of Volunteers – Educational Community. The theme of the meeting is “ Once there was...and Always will Be “ which exactly redempts thiss essence of volunteering – the power of making things happen, the consciousness that, through its trajectory, it will be helping to write other histories and becoming part of them.

The Encounter is one of the actions planned for 2011, with the objective to stimulate the volunteering work spirit between its collaborators. The goal of the Bunge Foundation is to increase between 20 and 30% the numbers of volunteers of the Educational Community.

By Cecília Carvalho – Coordinator of the Educational Community

We are in an Era of Information and Knowledge in which technology is part of life for millions of people of all ages. Easy access to technology and the inadequate use of such resources has opened the doors to a type of aggression known as Cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying or “virtual bullying” is a type of bullying that uses modern means of communication and the most advanced technology to harass, humiliate and mistreat the victims, most of whom are teenagers. It is a type of silent violence that may seem harmless to some people, but which can lead to serious consequences for those who suffer such attacks.

Cyberbullying is increasingly turning into a concern for parents and teachers due to the devastating results and the multiplying suffering it brings to victims. It is a violence that goes beyond the walls of schools and the spots where teens meet and socialize. In cyberbullying, the victim cannot identify the aggressor, who uses their identity as powerful ally to perpetrate vicious attacks.

What teachers and parents must understand is that the psychological consequences of this type of violence are incalculable. A teen who is a victim of cyberbullying cannot escape unscathed from the attacks to their name and image in the web, before their family and society as a whole. Depending on the level of aggression, the person's self-esteem is shaken and surrounded by feelings of fear and anxiety, and may even fall into depression, thus compromising their school performance and becoming isolated.

We can see this type of aggression continues to grow in several nations and, as a means of prevention and awareness, the school, parents and educators must join forces to face such form of violence.

The school must offer the necessary information to educators through training, so they may identify, act and prevent bullying, whether it is physical or virtual. The school cannot be omissive and must use the information acquired to solve cases in a fair and legal manner, without any false accusation. This can be done in partnership with authorities, such as special victims units and other agencies.

Parents have the mission to guide their children on the conscientious use of technology based on moral values and respect for other people. Monitoring Internet use and the equipment used by teens is a way to defend cyberbullying victims and also to act in case the child is the aggressor.

By Denise Marcon, Psychologist and Education Portal Tutor

In July 2010, soon after the Bumba Hill tragedy in Rio de Janeiro, I posted a text on the Fundação Bunge site commenting that the tragedy verified on the Rio hills was not different from that in the region of Angra dos Reis (RJ) by early 2010 or the one we had seen in the Itajaí Valley (SC) by the end of 2008. And they are all similar to the one that devastated the Rio de Janeiro sierra region early this year. We were dumbstruck by the news that serve as evidence for a principle: we must have the courage to make a choice. The tragedy cannot be perceived merely as a threat, but rather as a shorter path in a learning process.

The images of destruction in Rio de Janeiro have lead us to feel revolted, some against Nature, others against incompetent authorities, and many against the lack of social organization whereby people may demand their rights and comply with their duties. Some felt a revolt against God. Regardless of the reason for our revolt, what matters is that we should use that to leverage action and not to accept inertia. Climate events, whether they are extreme or not, have always existed and, according to experts, they will continue to occur in increasingly larger scale. This will not change. What we must change is our ability to prevent and adapt to such events.

We lack information, interpretation and communication. We urgently need to read, understand and communicate alerts given by Brazilian scientists and research institutes on large-scale weather events. Such state of readiness is not common among authorities, as we have seen in Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina and the Northeast region, who notoriously have no plans for prevention. "Plan A" means to always use the power of calling forth the action of sensitive Brazilians. "Plan B" is to trust that things will settle down at the end, as "after all, God is Brazilian." "Plan C" is to count on the short memory of the population, as by the next rainfall, which always comes at year's end or early in the next one, people have already forgotten this last one and have adapted to its consequences. The pain remains only for those who have lost everything and, in the Rio de Janeiro case, who have lost their loved ones.

We cannot complain of our climate, as the inconvenience it causes, and we well know that it is always in the same times of the year, are the strong rains followed by floods. Nevertheless, we remain unprepared for them. I try to imagine what would happen if we had to face hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes as it is the reality in many nations, including some of our neighbors. We must learn from those countries how to prevent tragedies, how to alert the population, how to deal with the events and, above all, how to undergo such conditions without reaching the alarming number of deaths that occurred in the Rio de Janeiro sierra region.

The way is not to find out the culprits or merely regret the losses and damages. Quite the opposite, such adversity must not be perceived as a threat, but rather as a shorter path to an education. In order to move from rhetoric to action I insist the change is a choice that requires courage. Authorities must make this choice and we, as a society, whether organized or not, must have the courage to demand and cooperate with this change.

By Cláudia Buzzette Calais, Executive Director of Bunge Foundation

Over the last  fifty years, Brazil lived an accelerated process of social and demographic changes. From 1960 up today the Brazilian population ceased to be predominantly rural and now more tha 80% of its inhabitants live in urban areas. The frequency of illiteracy dropped from 40% to 10%. The size of the Brazilian families also shrunk and the average number of children was reduced from six to less than two.

When the social and demographic changes are added, the implantation in the Eighties of the Unified Health Service (SUS) made a important contribution to the health improvement of the Brazilian population. Advances were achieved in the universal access to health care, and national health care programs such as the programs for mass immunization, the use of oral rehydration therapy and the program for the treatment of the HIV/AIDS syndrome, became a reference all over the world. With all this, the life expectancy of the newborn Brazilian has risen from a mere 50 years in the Sixties to surpass the average of 70 years. In this new scenario, health problems associated to aging, such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and neoplasias have become more and more important. Nevertheless, the maintenance in the country of  highly unequal social conditions associated to a fast and unorganized occupancy of urban areas resulted in the surge of communities in need of care (favelas) with inadequate sanitary and living conditions where transmittable diseases continue to exist.

Among the infectious diseases associated to poverty or the lack of a urban infrastructure we can list as important problems of public health the infectuous respiratory diseases, diarrhea, leprosy, rheumatic fever,dengue and leptospirosis among others. The leptospirosis stands out in this group of diseases by the paradigm that represents a disease that emerged in this new scenario. Leptospirosis is a disease transmitted to man through contact with the urine of infected animals or the contact with water or mud contaminated by the bacterium. In the urban environment the main animal that functions as a reservoir for the transmission of leptospirosis is the sewer rat. Every year, during the rain season, epidemies of leptospirosos hit the urban communities in need, where the absence of proper sanitation and drainage propitiate the reproduction of rats and subject the dwellers to the contact with contaminated waters. About 12.000 cases are notified each year in the country with one out of evry ten patients evoluting into obit.

Since 1996, our research group at Fiocruz in Salvador, in collaboration with the associations of dwellers of communities in which the disease has high incidence, as well as with partners from the Federal University of Bahia, the Offices of Health from Salvador and Bahia, the Ministry of Health and other national and international institutions, have been investigating the epidemiology and pathogenesis of the urban leptospirosis, aiming to establish the impact of the disease and identify new approaches for prevention and control. This work in partnership has brought important contributions.

The studies showed that the incidence of sub-clinical infections and of light manifestations of the disease are respectively about a hundred and five times more frequent than what is observed about the severe forms of the disease, This indicates that the impact of the disease can be much bigger than previously acknowledged. It was identified that the majority of infections in the urban environment are acquired next to the home and not during work activities as previously thought. Beyond that, evaluations of the effectivity of prevention strategies, including pest (rat) elimination and sanitary and drainage programs, are in course and a quick test, able to give a diagnosis of the disease in only twenty minutes, was developed and its efficacy will be tested during the year 2011.

One of the major challenges for public health in Brazil is to deal with the complex epidemiology of diseases that came up in the Nation. If on one side the diseases associated to aging are those who prevail in the general population, on the other side specific populational groups still are subject to an elevated risk of acquiring infectious diseases. Researches and public policies with focus on prevention, control and health promotion will need more and more to be oriented to the damages that became more prevailing with the epidemiologic transmission that the country features, but without ceasing to contemplate the old health problems that stubbornly persist or that re-emerged. The criation by the Bunge Foundation of a new thematic sub-area, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, due to premiation in the year 2010, is a important acknowledgement of the need for us to continue advancing in this area of human knowledge for the weel being of society.

By Guilherme de Sousa Ribeiro, a doctor graduated by the Federal University of Bahia – UFBA and researcher of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation – FIOCRUZ.
Contemplated with the award Premio Fundação Bunge 2010 in the area of Public Health/Preventive Medicine (category Youth).

The usual Fall rains do not occur with the same regularity of before. The non-tropical hurricanes at the southern coast is no longer news. A tornado with the magnitude of that verified in Guaraciaba, Santa Catarina state took everyone by surprise. People miss cold winters and hot summers. To make things worse, a new actor is on the stage, the “El Niño Modoki.” The nickname “modoki” (“It seems but isn't” or “similar but different” in Japanese) began in July 2009 and only lost its strength by July 2010. The consequences for the phenomenon were a prolonged drought in northern Brazil and floods in the South, Southeast and even the Northeast regions.

In the Brazilian Amazon two atypical weather phenomena took place in 2005, In January, a “wind downburst” occurred over most of the region and was responsible for the death of over 500 million trees. By September of the same year there was an uncommon drought in the region that also led to the loss of millions of trees. When the damages from the two events were calculated in terms of greenhouse gas effects, the results were practically the same as the emissions caused by forest fires in the Amazon during that year. An important fact for 2005 is that the average annual rainfall was just about within the historical average for the region. Thus, the variation in weather within the same year was terrible, but not noticeable in relation to history.

In 2005 the Amazon was very vulnerable both to drought and to rainfall with winds gusting above 100 km/hour. These episodes also show that we are not capable of describing such phenomena, much less of producing reliable forecasts. It is hard to work with preventive and adapting measures without reliable forecasts. In summary, the Amazon remains helpless, the weather afflicts the region and man can do little to control the weather's 'mood'. It is worth noting that the problem is not limited to the northern region, as it is almost sure that the rainfall cycles for the Center-West, Southeast and South depend heavily on the rains that begin in the Amazon.

Only during the last decades of the 19th Century the Earth reached its first one billion inhabitants, but in the past 150 years we added another 6 billion people to the planet. The consequences? Increased consumption of everything. CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has jumped from 281 ppm in 1850 to 381 in 2007. What does the weather's changing mood have to do with this? This increase coincides with the advent of fossil fuels and, therefore, technology has a lot to do with weather conditions. Therefore,technology created the problem and technology has the responsibility to mitigate it.

What each one of us can do? First, we must reduce overall consumption. Then we can only hope that the combination of new technologies with reductions in carbon emissions produces positive results.

By Niro Higuchi, Foret Eng., INPA Researcher
Winner of the 2010 Fundação Bunge Award in the Forest Sciences area (category Life and Work).

Since 2009, historians in Brazil, despite not having their profession officially regulated, have a national day to celebrate it, August 19, chosen to honor the birth date of Joaquim Nabuco.
   
History is a discipline that is present in all other forms of thought, be it scientific or not. Any manifestation that may be analyzed may also have its history related. Several other professions and human exact or biological sciences refer to History as the means to place a phenomenon in time and space, generally using recent advances as referral points.
   
With History formalized in the manner we know it during the 19th Century, historians tried to conquer for it a status of science. They applied theories and methods of analysis found in exact and biological sciences, using them in an effort to establish standards and taxonomies, and to verify circumstances and symptoms that would facilitate future analysis and prospection. Currently there are various historical currents that, more than great narratives, are more based in the observation of daily life and its elements, such as micro-history, cultural history and the history of daily life, among others.

In correlation to other sciences, the academic historian has an interesting and increasingly expanded professional market. In opposition to the common sense that historians deal with a past that is done and over with, their function is linked to the launching of new bases for future action, while having as an inflexion point past experiences and the multiple interpretations one may give them.

Therefore, more than mere facts, historians deal with different forms of analysis of facts and interpret the processes that interact and configure the present in its various social, economic, political, moral and ethical aspects.

That is why History has as an aim what we consider essential and that distinguishes us from all other forms of existence: our own sense of humanity and the effort to understand our presence in life.

By Marilucia Bottallo, Bunge Memory Center coordinator

The institutes and foundations that are responsible for directing a large share of private social investments in Brazil, as well as governments, corporations and the population as a whole must be alert to a new demand for their investments: extreme climate events. Nevertheless, the focus for reflexion on this issue cannot be to blame Nature for the misdeeds we have seen in the news lately. We must blame our lack of commitment to propose actions that are responsible and focused on what we call the new cycle of development, which presupposes economically feasible, socially just, environmentally correct and culturally acceptable actions.

Blaming Nature for the deaths in Rio de Janeiro hills or at the Itajaí Valley in Santa Catarina state is a mere cover for our omission and lack of responsibility when the time comes for defining investments, whether public or private, from individuals or business. And some forms of understanding are fundamental in this process of directing investments. The first is to understand we are dealing with people. We must break the paradigm, specially for poor people, that any solution will favor them.

The second form is to give knowledge its due value. Academia and governments, research and private initiative cannot be dissociated. The third is our commitment to sustainability. Generally, sustainable principles are observed only after the interests of all those involved are satisfied. The challenge facing us is the invitation to a reflexion and to a change before that line of satisfaction. Our lack of knowledge about conscientious social and environmental concepts cannot justify our omission before the scenario lying right in front of us. Also, we cannot transfer to future generations the responsibility for in the search for solutions.

The fourth form is the commitment to local development and involvement. Communities cannot stay aside from decisions about their challenges – and solutions depend on their participation. Structural changes will not arrive by helicopter, such as a large share of aid items donated to victims of tragedies. They will come from our society, and this is our demand.

And we, who somehow and under any instance have the power of decision over such investments cannot omit ourselves. We must apply the premise of commitment to the people and to the actions focused on this new development cycle, while making sure that knowledge is given its proper value and allowing for the participation of local people in the search for solutions to our challenges. It is very important that innovative actions be perceived as an invitation to thinking and acting in a different manner.

Making proposals in a chaotic situation is not easy, as needs are pressing. The problem is that solutions offered after some tragedies are fragile. Serious structural changes are a choice that requires courage, and we must make such choice and have such courage. There is no magic, what we need is responsibility, commitment and dialog. The change must begin.

By Cláudia Buzzette Calais - Fundação Bunge Social Responsibility Manager

In all professions there is a need for constant improvement aimed at meeting the rapid evolution of knowledge and technology. At the classroom the scenario is not different. Dealing with youngsters in an environment where education is the basis for a relationship, it becomes compulsory for teachers to recycle themselves, while constantly searching for information and finding new techniques to keep students stimulated and capable of absorbing the knowledge transmitted in the classroom.

In this post, my first, I'd like to offer this reflection: how much and in what way are teachers preparing to deal with this new generation of students now called the Y Generation – youngsters who love contents (not always para-didactic) and fun, using mostly the Internet and other mobile technologies to gather such knowledge. 

Speed, freedom, consumption, individuality and technology are the values that make up the Y Generation, which is composed of youngsters born from 1978 through 1990. Also, there is a great influence of the hedonistic culture, while many are blog authors and manage social network communities.

Although many schools already have access to technologies, it is difficult to know to what degree educators are able to both offer and gather knowledge. In fact, is there adequate communication or student interest for the contents of material presented in the classroom?

Now, the question that may answer many of such doubts: But who is actually responsible for training these educators in the way to deal with this new generation? 

I believe it is not the government alone, although it plays the major role. Yes, today's teachers must reach beyond their boundaries to understand their new public. The must use the new tools to work in a differentiated manner so they can meet their students' expectations and, therefore, grow as professionals. 

I also believe that private initiative may cooperate in some way in this new scenario. After all, any effort aimed at quality education must be considered, as the dynamic reality of today's world requires kids and teens that are ready for social life, aware of their history, active in their search for knowledge, committed and engaged.

Cecilia Carvalho, Fundação Bunge project coordinator

Throughout their existence, the Fundação Bunge Awards have been an incentive to the development of sciences, letters and arts, rewarding people whose work has contributed to the development of six areas of knowledge: I) Biological, Ecological and Health Sciences; II) Exact Sciences and Technology; III) Agricultural Sciences; IV) Human and Social Sciences; V) Letters and VI) The Arts. The gallery of past winners gathers one hundred and fifty nine Brazilians who have contributed to improve the quality of life and have truly earned our esteem.

The 2010 incentive will be awarded in areas where Brazil has great needs: Public Health and Preventive Medicine. These areas truly impact our lives, notably for the needier social classes. Health is fundamental to the quality of life and for the development of the human being. The public and private universities, as well as institutions invited to nominate personalities who may have contributed to the improvement of these areas are our partners and will help the Fundação Bunge Grand Jury to reward a Brazilian in 2010, a person of whom we will certainly be proud.

By Ruy Martins Altenfelder Silva, Curator, Fundação Bunge Awards