Espirito Santo

02/03/26

The Networked Territories initiative, a partnership between the Vale Foundation, Cidade Escola Aprendiz, and the Municipality of Cariacica, works to fight school dropout rates and promote access to education. In three years of operation, the project has managed to reintegrate more than 2,500 children and adolescents aged 4 to 17 into the education system. 

Launched in 2022 in the municipality of Espírito Santo, the program has conducted over 13,000 home visits and more than 25,000 remote contacts. The Networked Territories program assists municipalities in actively searching for children and adolescents who are frequently absent from school or have dropped out, as well as monitoring their families and maintaining constant coordination with public authorities. The idea is to help create solutions so that no child or adolescent is left out of the classroom. 

 The project also implements community communication strategies to raise awareness and identify truant children, promotes intersectoral action between the Departments of Education, Health and Social Assistance, and trains public agents to formulate and implement policies to prevent and address school exclusion.  

‘“The return of more than 2,500 children and adolescents to classrooms in Cariacica demonstrates the strength of partnerships when we work with the common purpose of guaranteeing the right to education. for the Vale Foundation, implementing initiatives such as the Territory Network reinforces our commitment to contributing to social development in the territories where Vale operates, always aligned with strengthening public policies and promoting opportunities for all families,” said Maykell Costa, manager of the South/Southeast Territory of the Vale Foundation. 

On February 11th, “Results Seminar: Paths to the Right to Education in Cariacica” was held at the Auditorium of the Pio XII College. The event was attended by teachers, educational coordinators and supervisors, community health workers, social workers, members of the Guardianship Council and other municipal partners who learned about the project’s work and the social protection network in guaranteeing the Right to Education. The Seminar also included representatives from the Municipal Department of Education and the Management of Policies to Support School Retention and Active School Search of the State Department of Education, who presented their work in addressing school exclusion, as well as the participation of representatives from the intersectoral network, such as the Guardianship Council, the Social Assistance Reference Center, and the Youth Reference Center.  

Networked Territories 

The Networked Territories project seeks to prevent and address school exclusion by connecting various sectors to develop public policies that guarantee the right to education. Since 2020, it has operated in 19 municipalities in the states of Pará, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro, and has enrolled nearly 20,000 children and adolescents in public schools. Executed by Cidade Escola Aprendiz, it has the support of Wheaton Precious Metals, Grupo Hidrau Torque (GHT), Komatsu, and Keda (KHDI).