FAQs

1. What are the goals of Transforma?: The goal is to create opportunities together with schools for students up from 1st grade to high school to:

-Experience Olympic and Paralympic values

- Try new sports

-Engage in the Games
2. How do schools participate in Transforma?: Transforma is implemented both by direct and long distance assistance to schools. In its long distance assistance, available to any school in Brazil, Transforma offers reference educational material on the internet and schools utilize that resource to elaborate their own activities.
Transforma is present by direct assistance in many public schools in Rio de Janeiro where periodical visits are made to follow up activities and training courses (among others in Olympic and Paralympic sports) are promoted. In those schools, Transforma is supported by five groups of multipliers accredited in training courses: pedagogical coordinators, P.E. teachers, young agents (leader students), young agents’ tutors and field agents.
This assistance model started in 2013 in 15 schools in the city of Rio which participated in the test phase of the programme’s methodology.
3. What does the programme offer to the participating schools?: All the educational content produced by Transforma is open and accessible to all schools on the internet. The schools in Rio to which Transforma grants direct assistance are offered:

-Digital educational material

-School kit (guidelines, posters and manuals)

-On-site training courses for the application of the methodology and of activities focused on pedagogical coordinators, P.E. teachers, young agents and young agents’ tutors

-Workshops on Olympic and Paralympic sports for P.E. teachers

-On-site assistance by field agents

-Challenges and awards
4. What does the pedagogical material offered by Transforma include?: Transforma offers digital lessons and educational materials for downloading on the internet with activities that can be developed by schools and also with training courses for pedagogical coordinators, P.E. teachers, young agents (leader students formed by the programme) and young agents’ tutors (education professionals formed by the programme).
The content is divided between the general public and the specific public in schools (pedagogical coordinators, Young agents, Young agents’ tutors and P.E. teachers). The general contents approach introductory information about Olympism and the Olympic and Paralympic Movements, whilst the specific contents are focused on different categories of interest.
Transforma’s pedagogical content was inspired by the IOC’s “Olympic Values and Education Program (OVEP)” methodology, which was adapted by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB); by the experiences of education programmes of previous Olympic and Paralympic Games editions; and by the Exchange of technical experience with Rio’s City Education Department and with educators in schools that participated in Transforma’s test phase in 2013.
5. Who are the young agents?: The young agents are students trained by the programme to lead the realization of activities in schools, spread the Olympic and Paralympic values and engage the entire school community in the spirit and joy of the Rio 2016 Games.
6. Why did Rio 2016 decide to launch an Education Programme?: Education is a premise of the Modern Olympic games, initiated by the Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1896 as an international sports event inspired in the ancient Olympic Games. A pedagogue and historian, Coubertin created the modern Games to enhance the education systems believing that physical education was determinant to the complete human development.
In that tradition the launching of the Education Programme was established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as a mandatory commitment for every city that hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
7. How will Transforma expand until the Games?: Transforma’s planning predicts a scaled expansion until the Games in August 2016 with more schools in Brazil coming on board and the transfer of the programme’s methodology to public institutions (responsible for the educational policy) and private entities related to elementary, middle and high schools.
8. Does Transforma offer any sort of financial aid to participating schools?: No.
9. Does Transforma distribute printed educational material to schools?: No.
10. Does Transforma offer sport equipment to participating schools?: No.
11. Does Transforma aim to train and select new Brazilian athletes through the proposed experimentation of new Olympic and Paralympic sports?: No. Together with schools Transforma offers opportunities of sports experimentation so that students get in touch with new sports and live out the Olympic and Paralympic values. The focus of the programme is not sports practice itself, but how sport’s ideals can positively influence the attitudes of youngsters inside and outside of schools. Some examples of sports’ values stimulated by Transforma are teamwork, the joy found in effort, fair play, respect towards differences and the seeking of excellency in all tasks.
12. Will students that participate in Transforma receive free or discount tickets for the Games?: This possibility is not foreseen at this time.