Month: April 2021

By Mario Quintino

 Inspired by the desire for change, consultant links creativity and transformation with a project in Capão Redondo.

 A little over ten years ago, in the Capão Redondo neighbourhood in Sao Paulo’s Southern outskirts—one of the most deprived areas of the city—the Fábrica de Criatividade (Creativity Factory) project was born. Created by the entrepreneur Denilson Shikako, 34, the innovation consultancy was established in 2007, and to this day operates in the same headquarters. Currently serving large companies in Brazil, it still maintains social projects in the region, always aiming at creating and transforming. The Creativity Factory is an example of what can be achieved by more sustainable capitalism focused on fighting against inequality and advancing opportunities, especially for the most marginalized.

“The world is different on the other side of the bridge.” One of the most well-known verses by the rap group Racionais MCs shows the reality of contrasts in São Paulo. While, on one hand, the Southern region is home to Morumbi, one of the city’s most privileged neighbourhoods, on the other hand, there is Capão, which was once considered one of the most dangerous regions in the world. Shikako’s family was one of the victims of this unequal reality.

In 2000, his father was murdered. Following this tragedy, the middle-class family sold everything they had and moved out of the country to take care of a relative’s business in the United States. However, it was from this loss that Shikako found inspiration to contribute to change in the neighbourhood, doing what eventually became a lifelong project for him: seeking creative solutions to overcome difficulties and expand opportunities.

“After this tragedy, my family moved away, took off some time, and returned. I already had the desire to create a social project, and came up with the idea of building the Factory. We need to take steps to change our reality, otherwise, nothing will happen. Our interest has always been to create a sustainable project that gives this idea and money to people,” says Shikako. Soon after the concept was consolidated, work began with the help of various partners.

The concept of creativity and the reuse of materials have been incorporated into every detail, including the design and construction of the building where the Factory is located. There are, for example, doors made with marble, a “human foosball” court, walls with secret passages, and slates on the washroom walls, where anyone can write their thoughts and leave messages.

Everything is different and functional in a space that also became home to the first Cultural Center in Capão Redondo, with a theatre and spaces offering a range of creative workshops. Around one thousand people a month benefit from these services, offered free of charge or at affordable prices, through the Friends of the Creativity Factory Association. “My mother remembers something. I wrote something in fourth grade where I said I wanted to be an inventor. I wanted something really revolutionary, in the middle of Capão Redondo. The plan was to create a place offering for people ideas and, at the same time, could generate income for them.”

In one of these activities, Shikako recalls the story of a boy. The children had to express, through drawing, what they would like to be in the future. The boy then took the pencils and drew an image of a child during a mugging, wielding a weapon in his hand. After this, there was a need to work on raising awareness and possibilities for this child. “Our goal is to awaken the idea that innovation and creativity open paths, possibilities, changing lives like this. Through art, we can create the awareness of seeking something new and, consequently, offer opportunities,” says Shikako.

 Innovation consultancy

 The idea began by valuing and creating a space for change in a neighbourhood that transformed and became one of the best-known innovation consultancies in Brazil. Large companies such as Natura, Danone, and Rede Globo are among its clients. For Itaú (Brazilian bank) the co-development of the organization’s innovation project resulted in actions such as a flash mob that brought around 5,000 employees together.

Another project created for the cosmetic company, Mary Kay, is “Our Monday is the best” with the program “Thank God. It’s Monday”. For a year, every Monday, the company’s call-centre operators had different activities involving different perceptions of senses encouraging creativity and coexistence. Several of these projects generated videos and texts that can be found at the consultancy website: www.fabricadecriatividade.com.br.

One of the highlights of the Factory’s work is its motto, which is a phrase by Shikako himself: “You miss 100% of the pitches you do not do.”

It is an ode to human potential in face of the transformations the world is undergoing. The Factory is introduced to the projects proposed by the companies and teams of professionals in areas such as marketing, engineering, design, advertising, and publicity. Together, they develop actions encouraging employees and managers to innovate. The idea is to always stimulate creative thinking. The project has already carried out around 700 training sessions, 400 consultations, and more than a hundred projects across all branches of companies.

“Our work is empowering people, showing them the ability to be creative. You need to be aware of what you are capable of and feel free to innovate. We show techniques that provide this. All of this results in the construction of an integrated and creative company. Creativity changes the world. We want to awaken and transform people,” says Shikako.

The success of the Creativity Factory has already expanded beyond the bridge separating Capão from the rest of the city. It has put itself on the map. “Capão is our Silicon Valley. We can have an even funny headquarters comparing to Google!”, says the entrepreneur, laughing. The space has been used many times for meetings and presentations inspired by nature. Worldwide famous bands like hip-hop group, The Black Eyed Peas, have already performed there.

Space has also hosted United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) meetings. With such recognition and expansion, it grew and needed new units. The consultancy, known as the world centre of technology and innovation, is now in Silicon Valley, and also in Canada. It never, however, forgot its origins and purpose. Projects like this are timely initiatives; they start very small, from the idea of someone who believes in human beings. However, they carry with them the ability to have a long-term impact by acting early in life for young people, even in childhood. They become, therefore, an educational construction activity, resonating with people in this century, and those centuries that are coming.

 25th Century Magazine was created by Midierson Maia and it is focused on long-term impacts of disruptive technology. It seeks to bring the reader a debate about the impact and consequences of disruptive innovation. Check out more at https://25thcenturymag.com/

By Mario Gregório

Experts discuss current difficulties and indicate the paths education should take. 

Technological evolution and the behavioural changes arising from it, pose not only the challenge of preparing children and young people, but also the difficult task of proposing an education which prepares adults for things such as the clarity of risks, the need to build the future, and the need to enable a more conscious attitude upon innovation processes.

“The future is today, it is now,” states Universidade de São Paulo (USP) professor José Carlos Moran, who, between the late 1980s and early 1990s, was one of those responsible for creating the School of the Future, a pioneering project in the discussion on how to better prepare students and educators for what is to come. “We started in the midst Internet advent, which was still unknown. Our main objective was to discuss the new challenges that arose for education in this new reality,” he explains. As a visionary, Moran and his group anticipated discussions which only now have more prominence in school spaces, such as the need for education that uses all resources; not just instrumentally, but also reflecting on their utility.

“The school and teachings of the future need to be created and put into practice today. Needs are clear and we need to meet them,” Moran believes. Data on education in Brazil reinforces the professor’s idea. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)—which measures the level of education in various countries all over the world every three years— came out with their most recent study in 2015. The results showed Brazil was among the last in all areas evaluated. Of the 72 participating nations, Brazilian students ranked 66th in Mathematics, 63rd in Science and 59th in Reading. PISA is coordinated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Besides the difficulties indicated in the survey, the reality is even worse if we consider the amount of people who dropped out of university. In Brazil, students who drop out are around 7% in elementary school and 12% in high school, according to the Ministry of Education (MEC).

According to Moran, among the reasons for dropping out, is the fact that students find the school system doesn’t work for them. Some students also need to support their families, financially. “School needs to be seen as a space that will provide students with elements for their growth. Education has to open the possibility of creating a better future for oneself and building a better life. This must begin as early as elementary school.”

Futurology and education

The debate about the future was outlined in the 1970s, with a Brazilian among the group of pioneers. Professor Rosa Alegria has always been curious about what could happen in society; she became a futurist, graduating from the University of Houston in the United States, one of the first schools to theorize about the future based on a trend scenario constructed by methodical observation of the past and the present. “Futurism studies which paths will lead us to the novelty. We try to anticipate these events in order to deal with the future better,” she says.

According to Rosa, analysis of social changes and statistics can be useful in this attempt to interpret the future. “Futurism has more to do with anticipation than forecast. It has nothing to do with assumptions. It is an analysis based on what we have already experienced and the characteristics people have, how they usually act,” she explains. To avoid terminology misunderstandings—which might link the field with astrology or other sciences—researchers from the area prefer to use the term “futurism” rather than “futurology”. Currently, Rosa is at the forefront of implementing an educational platform called TTF – Teaching To Future, created in Germany. It involves training teachers and encouraging students’ creativity. Projects like this create educational practice, which helps to create agents of change while educating for professional activity.

One of the things experts in futurism are concerned about is the discussion on the educational bases that need to be implemented. “Teaching today is outdated and still has characteristics that go back to the Industrial Revolution. Students need to learn about the past, always look forward, and be encouraged to develop creative ability. The way information is being transmitted is just as important as what is being taught. We have several possibilities for this and technology is an ally in this matter,” Rosa points out.

According to Alegria, Brazil is headed backwards in terms of education. In 2017, the Federal Government stated that every student, whether from private or public schooling, is expected to have the same educational background, she explains. “Students are increasingly demanding personalized education that can capture the skills of each one and develop them in the best way possible, but it is something that would require costs which governments do not seem to be willing to budget for.”

In the United States, business theorist Clayton Christensen—author of the books, The Innovator’s Dilemma and Disrupting Class—argues that schools can undergo the same processes of disruption as a company in order to change the way of teaching. Although controversial, he argues that there are very similar issues in the world of education and business. He believes one of the solutions could be online education, which could merge different ways of learning, since the student would be able, through the Internet, to contact teachers with different methods, without being obliged to take classes with professors imposed by the school. According to Christensen, schools and activities should enable students always to be successful, just as in the business world.

Basic issues

Besides the need for a personalized education, there is a structural challenge. “Nowadays, many schools have 35–40 students per classroom. It is very complicated for the teacher to organize any activity with such a large number of people. Activities and group dynamics are tools for development, but on this scale, it is impossible for the educator to deal with each student with the necessary attention and monitoring,” Moran adds.

According to the study Effective Teacher Policies: Insights from PISA, released in early June by the OECD, Brazil is among the countries with the highest number of students per classroom. In China, an average of 12 students make up a class, while in Brazil the average is 22 students. That figure is second only to Colombia, with 27 students on average per classroom.

Despite studying the relationship between society, education, and technology, both Moran and Alegria see the teacher as the centre of the entire educational process, which means that this profession must be valued. “While salaries are falling, teachers have more students to teach and guide, without a minimum structure or resources for this, especially in public schools. This undermines initiatives in developing new teaching methods and activities,” Moran says.

“Nowadays, technology is accessible to everyone and should be an instrument of education. There is a lot of talk about flipped, more interactive classrooms, but how do we do this while we’re in this situation? We need to invest and recover the dreams that education can provide,” adds the professor. When talking about flipped classrooms, Moran refers to a method of teaching in which a problem or challenge is posed to the students. In the search for resolution, relationships and theories are constructed and researched.

On this topic, Rosa adds that parents have a determining role: “Parents and community are fundamental in discussions about education and future. Everyone contributes in some way, and exchanging knowledge encourages everyone to create and propose new ideas.” Education has direct impacts on issues that currently remain only in the field of political discourse and are not being put into practice, such as sustainability and reducing inequality. There are few projects which, when thinking about the future, promote a transformation starting in the present, involving young people, for example, in actions of social entrepreneurship.

25th Century Magazine was created by Midierson Maia and it is focused on long-term impacts of disruptive technology. It seeks to bring the reader a debate about the impact and consequences of disruptive innovation. Check out more at https://25thcenturymag.com/