Winners of Cushion Contest get together for workshop

Giovane Gavio e Tandem foram conferir o resultado do workshop das artesãs.

September 14th, 2015

“I never thought I could take part in such a grand event like this”, says Jurema da Silva, 55 years old, an artisan at “Nêga Rosa”, one of the cooperatives chosen to make the cushions for the Athletes’ and Media Villages.

In August, 23 representatives from the four winning cooperatives of the Cushion Contest (namely, Rede Asta, Casa da Cultura, Nêga Rosa and Rede Ecosol) established by Rio 2016, got together for a workshop at the Committee headquarters. All morning, they attended presentations by the branding and sustainability areas on the history of the Games, as well as on the inspiration and the development of the Rio 2016 brands.

“It was a very pleasant and productive morning. We are used to doing workshops and training sessions on brand and design, but this time around the audience was really special. It was nice to share our experience and pass on to those cooperatives the lessons we have learned with the greatest event in the world”, tells Juliana Faria, brand coordinator at Rio 2016.

In total, over 22,000 cushions will be delivered in order to decorate the Athletes’ and Media Villages during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The job will be completed by February 2016 and it will be carried out by four cooperatives consisting of seamstresses from low-income Rio neighbourhoods.

The contest aims at guaranteeing the involvement, inclusion and promotion of productive groups, artisans and small producers in the organisation of the event. To help us train those groups, a Sebrae consultant will also be available, should the cooperatives display any difficulty in integrating the project.

“When we decided to include cooperatives and artisans as Games suppliers, our goal was to offer opportunities and income to those groups of people. We want to show the world their work and honour the local craftsmanship and workforce. We will provide them with all necessary support for the job, but it is essential to be able to count on their full commitment”, adds Sabrina Porcher, legacy and engagement specialist, who leads the project.

At the end of the event the artisans received four very special visitors, who showed up to congratulate them on winning the contest. Former athletes Ricardo Prado, Giovane Gavio, Tande and Robson Caetano came to have a closer look at the result of the workshop and welcome the artisans to the Olympic Universe”.