The Rio 2016 education programme has been expanded beyond the boundaries of the city and is now spreading the Olympic and Paralympic values to more than 100,000 pupils in 168 schools across the state of Rio de Janeiro. One of the main aims of the programme, which is called Transforma in Portuguese, is to broaden the range of sports practised in public schools.

“We have provided teachers with training and teaching materials that have been used by various schools to incorporate new sports, such as rugby and hockey, into their curriculums,” said Rio 2016’s head of education Mariana Behr. “In order to take these new experiences to more and more youngsters, the programme is being expanded to new schools in other municipalities in the state of the Rio.” 

Since February this year, 2,026 people – including physical education (PE) teachers, tutors, teaching coordinators and student leaders – have participated in training courses provided by Transforma, focusing on the Olympic and Paralympic Movements.

During the same period, more than 140 PE teachers have received training on how to teach various sports, including hockey, badminton, fencing, archery and Olympic and Paralympic athletics. Transforma will stage two more sports training courses for teachers by the end of this year.

The Rio 2016 education programme, which was officially incorporated into the Rio city schools system this year, will be one of the main social legacies of the Games. As well as the city of Rio de Janeiro, Transforma is now active in the municipalities of Niterói, São Gonçalo, Nova Iguaçu, Mesquita and Paty do Alferes.

Schools from all over Brazil can download activity suggestions and support material about the Olympic and Paralympic Movements on the programme’s official webpage.