The Rio 2016 Organising Committee opened its doors to 25 civil society organisations this week and invited their contributions towards making the Olympic and Paralympic Games more sustainable.

Close to 50 representatives took part in the organising committee's first Dialogue Workshop, held on 2-4 December, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The working groups contributed to the revision of the Sustainability Management Plan for the Rio 2016 Games, launched in August, with proposals for improvements, criticisims and new suggestions. The initiative aims to open a continuous dialogue with civil society and encourage a collective effort to create more sustainable Games.

“We had an extremely productive three days of work,” said Tânia Braga, Rio 2016's Sustainability, Accessibility and Legacy Manager. “I was impressed by the level of preparation, the quality of everything that was presented and the desire to contribute. It's an important step in our efforts to deepen dialogue with society and we can count on the help of all these organisations in the work that is ahead of us. We see a unique opportunity to make the most of the Games' power as a catalyst, to meet the important needs of our society.”

Edna Garcez, Supervisor of Rehabilitation and Sports Adaption at the Association of Assistance to Children with a Disbility (AACD-SP), also praised the workshop, saying: “This is a great opportunity for us to gain more understanding about everything that is happening and try to bring our experience to the institutions and contribute to the project. Each one of us has much to learn from the Games. I was really happy with the work we did.”

Discussions were based around the three strategic pillars identified in the plan: planet, people and prosperity. Social development, environmental impact, infrastructure, accessibility, inclusion and opportunities for economic growth were some of the themes discussed during the meetings.

“I admit that I didn't expect to find that (level of discussion) here,” said biologist Mauro André Pereira, president of non-governmental organisation Defenders of the Planet. “I was excited about the opportunity to take part in these discussions and contribute to the project. I work in environmental education with young people and children in poor communities in the west zone of Rio. I feel that people suffer from a lack of access, be it cultural, in terms of infrastructure and, mainly, to information. Now we have an opportunity to change and improve quality of life. We want to be a channel of positive change for everyone. For me, a education about sustainability is a springboard for more efficient Games.”

Denise Hamú, the diretor of UNEP in Brazil, said: “The spirit of collaboration showed by the civil society groups was the high point of the workshop. They came here as partners of the committee, as part of the process, so we believe this dialogue will continue to be very profitable for everyone. The plan was well received and the presentations clarified lots of things. I was confident that it would be a good exercise, but ended up being much more satisfied with the level of engagement, collaboration, commitment and about the ties that were formed.”

The conclusions from the first workshop will contribute to a new version of the Sustainability Management Plan. The document will be constantly revised and work with civil society will not stop here.

“We have in our hands an unparalleled opportunity for social transformation. It's now or never,” said Vanessa Goulart, executive director of the Independent Life Centre (CVI Rio). “We want to be part of this process and guarantee that the Games are for everybody. And make the most of this energy and this moment that we are living in to go further, to promote change, communicate well and engage people. Sport has this power to promote unity.”