By Joshua Reed | Intern Dreams Can Be
The EPC (Escola Pernambucana de Circo) is an institution involved with social, political, educational, cultural and artistic environment in the city of Recife, Brazil. The project is a model in its work with education in social circus, helping over 100 children, teenagers and young people while also being an effective part of forums and networks that allow a large basis of support and confidence in the fulfillment of its mission. EPC is also maintaining a political roll in the community, which is working through its actions in the sociopolitical formation of the people who are helped. This allows their empowerment as agents of social transformation in the search and construction of better life conditions within the community the city and eventually the country.
The Escola Pernambucana de Circo was one of the institutions which received the prize Escola Viva, through its featured work in education and culture. EPC received the award in the end of November 07, during the Encontro dos Pontos de Cultura (Gathering of the Culture Ends ) in Belo Horizonte. The award was given by Célio Turino, secretary of Programas e Projetos Culturais (Social Projects and Programs), to Fátima Pontes, chief officer of EPC (Escola Pernambucana de Circo).
One of the members of the troupe, Ronaldo Aguiar, was selected to work in the Universal Circus, in Atlanta, Georgia . Last Saturday, (January 19) Ronaldo was sent to Africa, where he will be in charge of the setting of a number of acrobat clowns. The number will be presented in a few months in the Universal Circus. A member of the Escola Pernambucana was the only Brazilian clown selected.
The organization has presently gained many opportunities to reinforce and improve its institutional structure, such as the construction of a new administrative center financed by Oxfam in 2007. With this center the EPC foresees new actions which will gather the União dos Moradores da Vila do Buriti (Inhabitants Union of the Buriti Suburb) along with other organizations that help the same audience in the Zona Norte of Recife, specifically in the neighborhood around Casa Amarela (Yellow House). This will allow them to establish more autonomy for the families of the students because of their efforts in the planning of the Centro da Juventude (Youth Center), The end goal is for it to be effectively a place of action that provides activities which give opportunities to the leadership and empowerment of the youth. To make this possible, the Organization has created a business plan and is now seeking financial support for its fulfillment. The plan focuses on the development and production of the artistic and cultural communications of the youth in the Troupe Circus. The main goal of the business plan is to provide more opportunities for the generation of income through the development of art and culture in an organized way. This will be planned and administered by young people of the popular classes, which will show the prejudice society of today that youth from the outskirts can be productive and beneficial to the market of artistic and cultural services. The plan also provides the ability to acquire experience as artists and teachers, while others produce their means and self-support through their actions in the areas of art and culture. The latest funds received from Global Giving have been used in the purchase of materials for the dance and theater classes, and also to repair some of the circus equipments.
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