Bridgestone, Dow back education in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO—Bridgestone Corp. and Dow Chemical Co.—both TOP Olympic sponsors—have joined forces with Transforma, the official education program of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games, to support and enhance educational opportunities for children and teachers throughout Brazil.

Transforma aims to engage children in learning by connecting them to sports-themed curriculum. Since its inception in 2013, the program has created free digital tutorials and training for educators, while developing classroom content for 7 million students from more than 12,000 schools throughout 2,500 Brazilian cities, according to the companies.

Bridgestone's support of the program has led to the establishment of training session for physical education teachers in Santo Andre and Camacari. The sessions, led by Rio 2016 sports professionals, offered the teachers new techniques for using Olympic sports as a spring board into interactive educational opportunities, Bridgestone said.

Sports festivals, organized in part by Bridgestone, were held in two communities and gave teachers and students the chance to particpate in Olympic and Paralympic sports such as diving, badminton, judo, table tennis and karate.

Additional support from Bridgestone allowed for the creation of digital training modules and television programs that emphasizes sustainability practices related to water, waste, animals and conscious consumption. Those programs reached more than 270,000 students.

“Bridgestone has a history of supporting sports in Brazil, and we are proud that through our Worldwide Olympic Partnership we can help advance a social legacy through sports and education,” said Fabio Fossen, president of Bridgestone Brazil. “We are honored to collaborate with a fellow TOP to support Transforma in this important work and bring the excitement of the Olympic Games beyond Rio de Janeiro.”

Meanwhile, Dow focused its efforts on developing programs that connected students and teachers to science and sports. Dow scientists work with Rio 2016 educators to develop nine digital classes in physics, chemistry, biology and environmental studies, all of which are taught through the lens of the Olympic Games.

Support from Dow also helped Transforma expand to seven additional cities—Guaruja, Jacarei Pindamonhangaba, Franco da Rocha, Jundiai, Salvador and Candeias—and reach an additional 420 schools and 181,000 students.

“Transforma's partnerships with Dow and Bridgestone helped our program reach a larger number of students and teachers throughout the country,” said Vanderson Berbart, education manager of Rio 2016. “A program with strong partners will no doubt help in the process of building an educational legacy in Brazil.”