The Linguist

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER The Linguist 7 @Linguist_CIOL FEATURES The big idea How would you describe Abraço Cultural? CV We provide language and culture classes as a self-sustainable NGO with two major goals: to help refugees integrate into the local community by giving them a job; and to build a more diverse, tolerant and rich community through language and cultural education delivered by refugees. An important aim is to give everyone the opportunity to learn languages, so our courses are much cheaper than traditional schools. For more about Abraço Cultural, see abracocultural.com.br. How did the idea come about? DM I was involved with NGOs that support refugees through Atados – an NGO that I founded in 2012. In 2014, a group of volunteers and I created a network to showcase the different cultures of refugees. They saw that the refugees had a lot to give but no way of making an income. Abraço Cultural was our idea to address that. How did you get started? DM We organised volunteers into three groups – communications, administration and language/pedagogy – which are still our three departments. We started in São Paulo in 2015 with a summer course. We were supposed to have 40 students but almost 800 signed up. We started with 120 students and by the end of 2020 we had over 2,000. Working with dedicated volunteers you can reach any goal. When you established a second office in Rio you had no funding. How did you manage? CV We got creative. Daniel found a space we could use for free for three hours a day. Now we have two schools in Rio with 12 classrooms. It was hard at first but it made us stronger. In Rio, we also run events with partners such as SESC, a non-profit that makes education, recreational, culture and health programmes available to the community. DM In São Paulo we used Atados resources. We still have volunteers and partnerships, for example refugees who cater for our events. How did you develop the pedagogy? CV Daniel had an innovative idea but the materials were uninspiring and grammar- based. When I joined in 2015 as Pedagogical Coordinator, we revised the pedagogical references and rewrote every Abraço book. We use our own books as it is less expensive for students and, more importantly, it enables us to share cultures of the Global South. So what is your background? CV I am a teacher. I have degrees in French and Portuguese – one focused on literature, research and language, the other on teaching. For over 10 years, I worked as a French teacher and also in my school's pedagogical department. I am currently a postgraduate student in culture and education. DM I studied management in school. I didn't like studying languages, and I felt that combining the culture of refugees with language learning would be more attractive. How did you cope with the pandemic? CV Some of our teachers didn't have computers or internet access at home, so we provided that and did an intensive training week, followed by monthly workshops. Our offices in Rio and São Paulo had always been quite separate, but we really pulled together. Abraço Cultural Founder Daniel Morais and Co-Founder Abraço Rio Carolina Viera reflect on the NGO's growth How many people work for Abraço? CV We have two people in the pedagogical department, two in administration and one in communications in each city, plus 34 teachers from 13 nationalities, including Benin, Cuba, Haiti, Palestine, Syria and Venezuela. Tell us about teacher training at Abraço… CV We take an innovative approach. The initial training is 2-3 weeks. We also have a monthly workshop and an annual session with professionals from all over the world. What's next for Abraço Cultural? CV We are starting to offer scholarships to make language learning accessible for people across Brazil who wouldn't normally have this experience. We also hope to create a new cultural experience, combining online and offline, so watch this space… AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH Abraço teachers in Rio (main image) with Carolina (centre); and Daniel (inset)

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