1st. International Congress of Technology on Education	Inclusão social: o desafio de democratizar o conhecimento Social inclusion: the challenge of democratizing knowledge http://www.pe.senac.br/Congresso/

 

This event, sponsored by Sistema Fecomércio/Senac/Sesc, will take place from 30th September to 3rd October, 2003 in Recife, Pernambuco.

The event, which was consolidated for 7 years at a national level, is now going far beyond the country's boundaries and adopts an international level in order to promote a broader discussion about the new world tendencies regarding education and technology from the point of view of social inclusion as a challenge for the democratisation of knowledge.

Fecomércio Report, nº 84, April, 2003. The 1st Congress of Technology on Education shall be international. The "Congresso Brasileiro de Tecnologia e Educação" that Senac has been organising since 1996 is being considered as one of the major events of the educational area of the country. It was created in order to celebrate 50 years of Senac/PE and it began as a local seminar, then it became a national congress and this year it shall be international consolidating at the same time its significant position among teachers, students and professionals of the area. The choice of topics presented, the quality of the conferences and the level of organisation of the event were the most positive elements highlighted in the evaluation done by the participants. Every year, the event becomes larger as regards the number of participants; gathering this time three thousand people of various Brazilian states. The main topic of the Congress shall be: "Social inclusion: the challenge of democratising knowledge". Well-known speakers shall be discussing the most important current affairs in connection with education and the Inter-American Research and Documentation Centre on Vocational Training (Cinterfor/ILO) shall also be present.

The unceasing search for knowledge and technologies, which are capable of going along with the dynamics of the evolution of the contemporary societies, represents the fundamental characteristic of nowadays' way of thinking determined by the breaking of paradigms and by the speed at which the transformations of the world scenario take place.

The organizations in charge of promoting human development should reflect upon the new routes to be followed, in the sense of going far beyond the limits of the individual and provide access in a globalised way to the knowledge capable of promoting social inclusion and making human beings the main characters of their own historical destiny.

The Congress represents, within this context, an ideal opportunity to meet professionals, experts and people interested in discussing topics, sharing experiences and establishing new guidelines regarding education in accordance with the fundamental necessities of the new world order.

You may access the webpage at: http://www.pe.senac.br/Congresso/

 

Background

In 1996, the "Federação do Comércio Varejista do Estado de Pernambuco" (FECOMERCIO), and the National Commercial Training Service (SENAC), organized the I Seminário Nacional de Tecnologia e Educação in which the education in Brazil and its correlation between the technological advance were dealt with.

In 1997, taking into account the importance of this subject, FECOMERCIO and SENAC decided to organize the II Seminário Nacional with the purpose of providing continuity, in an effective and responsible way, to the discussions, analyses and alternative proposals of actions and policies in order to improve the quality of teaching in Brazil by means of using new technologies.

In 1998, the III Seminário Nacional was called "O desafio brasileiro do 3O Milenio" and it was sponsored by FECOMERCIO-SENAC/PE as well as by the Confederação Nacional do Comercio (CNC) and SEBRAE/PE.

In 1999, the Federação do Comercio do Estado de Pernambuco, through SENAC and SESC called for a new event about technology and education: the I Congresso Brasileiro de Tecnologia e Educação which took into account the successful experience of previous seminars.

The fundamental message of this Congress was to understand the education as a political project committed to people and the dynamics of social transformation determined by the technical advance and the information acceleration. With the purpose of making this project feasible, it is necessary to educate the population in order to think differently, to observe the reality from a new perspective, to understand the connections, the civic revival and to make people aware of their capacities so that they may become agents of change.

The 2nd Congress, "O que está mudando" took place in 2000 and the 3rd Congress "O ensino sem fronteiras na era do conhecimento" was held in 2001.

The 4th Congresso Brasileiro de Tecnologia e Educação was held in September, 2002 and it was named "Multiculturalism: a transforming society in the Digital Era".

While summoning for this Congress, Dr. Josias Silva de Albuquerque, President of Sistema Fecomercio declared:

"The importance of the technological advance in nowadays' world is unquestionable. Nevertheless, such advance does not guarantee modern societies' viability. We have come to the digital era, an age in which the virtual practices encourage to rethink the time and space of social institutions. It represents the culture of digitalized (in)formation in which the nations sustain relationships through a screen and promote the internationalization of cultures.

In this context, the education as a transforming ideology of human thinking intends to include and implement the necessary steps to lead mankind into the consolidation of ethical and esthetical principles of citizenship which are inseparable from the development of the civic man.

In this sense, considering the social mission of Sistema Fecomercio/Senac/Sesc as well as the already discussed proposals, we are now presenting to the Brazilians the programme of the 4th Congresso Brasileiro de Tecnologia e Educação and we suggest carrying out the event which provides a space for reflection and discussion about a fairer and therefore more tolerant world".

Furthermore, at the opening speech of the Congress, Dr. Albuquerque also stated:

"We believe that in the context of modern societies we cannot fail education to take part in the transformations that are occurring; on the contrary, education must be the fundamental vehicle for these transformations. And educators cannot be oblivious of these transformations. It is for this reason that for the seventh consecutive year and with a major effort of Sistema Fecomércio we are together again in order to carry out this event which is aimed at Brazilian educators and society. The Servico Nacional de Aprendizajem Comercial (SENAC) is an institution that for over 50 years has been offering to the community of the country a high quality work in the educational sector and building up a professional Brazil to contribute to the development of our nation. It continues to exist thanks to the resources provided exclusively by commercial, goods and service enterprises as an action of social responsibility of the Brazilian business world.

The SENAC organises courses of the most varied areas and SENAC Nacional trains more than two million people annually. It is present in all Brazilian States and it carries out a high quality work which make people working there proud of and which dignifies the institution. This year, in Pernambuco, we shall collaborate with more than 100 thousand people of the various courses at the level of professional qualification, improvement and technical-professional apart from the undergraduate courses offered in agreement with the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco as well as the postgraduate courses also provided with the official collaboration of this University. ...)

The transcribed versions of these congresses can be downloaded from the web page of SENAC/PE at:

http://www.pe.senac.br/Congresso/download.asp

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