Ocyan plans expansion of Volunteer Program in 2019

In 2018, Ocyan launched a new Volunteer Program and plans to increase the number of people benefited in 2019 by activating other projects of the Entrepreneurial Path, an initiative of the NGO Junior Achievement Rio de Janeiro (JARJ), one of the world’s largest social organizations encouraging youth. The Ocyan initiative, which is part of its social responsibility center School in Action, seeks to structure and expand the company’s volunteer actions, which have existed since 2007.

The project, which features activities at state public schools in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Macaé aims to encourage students to discuss important topics, such as ethics, citizenship, responsibilities, life in society, the job market and the future of today’s youth. In 2018 alone, the action impacted over 1,100 children and teenagers and mobilized 75 volunteers from the company.

“In all, 47 volunteers participated in Macaé and 28 in Rio de Janeiro. We conducted an awareness campaign to encourage more team members to register in order to reach the highest possible number of students. The project’s concepts play a fundamental role in developing a sense of citizenship among students and encouraging them to stay in school. This year, we want to engage more team members and reach even more kids,” explained Marco Aurelio Fonseca, Ocyan’s sustainability director.

After the awareness and training phases, Ocyan’s activities with JARJ will be conducted on-site and take to the schools debates such as “The advantages of staying in school” and “Let’s talk about ethics.” This year, four schools in Macaé and one in Rio de Janeiro benefited from the initiative, all involving students in the first year of high school. The volunteers applied the program at the state schools Luiz Reid, Irene Meireles, 1º de Maio and Matias Neto, in Macaé, and at Souza Aguiar school in Rio de Janeiro.

Programs

The advantages of staying in school
Raises awareness among children and teens on the importance of continuing their studies by providing educational information and presenting career options. It presents to students the costs and advantages of attending school through five activities: board game, chart analysis, budgeting, career planning and a dilemma.

Let’s talk about ethics
The program leads children and teens to reflect on the benefits of adopting ethical conduct in their personal and professional lives and helps them to better understand their roles as citizens.