Denver, CO – The Conexão Mundo program—a groundbreaking, innovative international education collaboration between the Brazilian Confederation of Industry (CNI) and US-Brazil Connect—will have a broader reach than ever in 2015. The bi-national educational exchange will now reach 32 schools in 20 Brazilian states, increasing from 18 states in 2014. Seven Brazilian cities will also host the program for the first time. Together with the other sites that are multi-year partners in the program, Conexão Mundo will offer spaces for 137 US Fellows, 67 US Team Leaders and 2,004 Brazilian students.

US-Brazil Connect Fellows and Team Leaders learned of their site assignments last month. The announcement of Brazilian cities elicited cheers at the nonprofit’s offices in Denver, Colorado.

“When you are placed in unfamiliar circumstances, a new part of you comes alive,” said Team Leader Brenton Weyi, who is very excited about his team assignment to Contagem in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

Unlike most international education programs, Conexão Mundo optimizes both physical and digital classrooms. US Fellows spend four weeks in Brazil helping students improve their fluency in and confidence with the English language through collaboration and interactive learning. Before and after that time, students and Fellows work together on Facebook and Google Hangouts to build relationships with one another and refine English skills using technology as a means of connection and distance education.

At the end of the program, the top five percent of students in the 2015 Conexão Mundo program from each site will be chosen to travel to the US.

“The program not only improves the English of young people. It also improves their confidence in other disciplines and prepares them with key skills to succeed in a globalized workforce,” said Sérgio Moreira, the Assistant Director of Education and Technology at CNI.

Conexão Mundo has a similar benefit for US participants hoping to sharpen their skills in international management. Over the course of the 18-week program, each US Fellow completes a rigorous curriculum built to improve leadership skills and cooperation across cultural boundaries.

“Our educational model has succeeded by our listening to and meeting the needs of Brazilians—not by imposing our own assumptions. Collaboration has helped make our fellowships affordable, but we also want that to be a key lesson for our Fellows. The 21st century economy awards creative partnerships, not traditional dogmas,” explained US-Brazil Connect Education Director Susan Gershwin.  

US-Brazil Connect Founder and President Mary Gershwin sees another exciting point in the announcement: the chance to build connections with Brazilian communities new to the program, and deepen connections with those already participating.  

“The friendships people develop through Conexão Mundo are the lifeblood of the program, because they open new avenues to learning, especially in the digital age,” she explained. “We are thrilled to be welcoming so many amazing communities into the Conexão Mundo family.”

Check out our other newsletter stories!  

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