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The Oracle Education Foundation (OEF) launched Think.com in Brazil on November 9, 2006. Brazil is the third country in Latin America (following Chile and Puerto Rico) to implement the program.
OEF plans to extend the program throughout the country through partnerships with local and state governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Brazil has 5.1 million students in almost 6,000 state schools and 3.5 million students in about 11,000 local schools.
"Available in nine languages, Think.com benefits 300,000 students in 48 countries today. Now, Brazilian children and teens can join this program, which stimulates learning beyond geographical boundaries," said Cyro Diehl, Vice President, Indirect Sales, Oracle Latin America, who is leading the initiative in Brazil.
A recent study titled "E-readiness 2006" in the British edition of The Economist shows that the technology gap between more and less developed countries has narrowed year after year, with the greatest advances occurring in the least developed countries. Since 2000, Brazil has climbed in the rankings to the 41st position out of 68 countries included in the study.
This data reinforces the importance of projects such as Think.com. "The companies that decide to invest in corporate citizenship programs can help convert education and digital inclusion into reality so they can be used as tools to improve the lives of children," said Silvio Genesini, President, Oracle Brazil.
In conjunction with the launch, Oracle and OEF executives participated in a press conference in São Paulo, in addition to representatives from the first local Think.com partners: Prodesp (Companhia de Processamento de Dados do Estado de São Paulo), the University of São Paulo's Escola do Futuro, and Bradesco Foundation.
In conjunction with the launch, Oracle and OEF executives participated in a press conference in São Paulo, in addition to representatives from the first local Think.com partners: Prodesp (Companhia de Processamento de Dados do Estado de São Paulo), the University of São Paulo's Escola do Futuro, and Bradesco Foundation.
Only two days after the official announcement, more than 40 schools in nine states (Amazonas, Ceará, Distrito Federal, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Pará, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, and São Paulo) registered on the portal to express interest in joining the program, and they will be reviewed by Think.com's Brazil committee.
Think.com's pilot project already has reached two schools in the town of Ubatuba, on São Paulo's coastline.
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