Millions of dollars set to be invested in developing an anti-racist public education system in Brazil
On 11 October 2022, it was announced that 10 million dollars will be invested in a project aimed to transform systems and institutions that uphold racial inequities in Brazil.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation selected the SETA Project - Education System for an Antiracist Transformation, as one of five winners of the Racial Equity 2030 Challenge.
The Challenge is awarding 80 million dollars across five awardees to help build and scale actionable ideas for transformative change in the systems and institutions that uphold racial inequities.
The SETA project has been developed by ActionAid and six other civil society organizations: Ação Educativa, Campanha Nacional pelo Direito à Educação, CONAQ - Coordenação Nacional de Articulação das Comunidades Negras Rurais Quilombolas, Geledés - Instituto da Mulher Negra, Makira E'ta - Rede de Mulheres Indígenas do Estado do Amazonas and UNEafro Brasil. The grant will be crucial to enable transformative, long-term changes in the systems and institutions that still operate under racial inequalities in Brazil. Strengthening youth, education, and black movements is key to unleashing a process of transformation in Brazil.
Ana Paula Brandão, ActionAid's Head of Policies and Programme in Brazil and one of the managers of the SETA Project, said:
"Education is the pathway for transformation and social mobility. The data of the black, indigenous, and quilombola population on school performance shows that Brazil does not offer quality education for this population. It is necessary to create an educational ecosystem that understands and pressures public authorities about the importance and urgency of investing in racial equity in education.
That is why we are planning actions with different social groups - network with key sectors, mobilization of the society, partnerships with universities, institutes, foundations and funds that work with education".
Launched in 2020, the Racial Equity 2030 Challenge was designed to help build and scale actionable ideas for transformative change in the systems and institutions that uphold racial inequities. The Challenge aims to unleash transformative solutions to improve the lives of children, families and communities across the world.
The challenge was announced in 2020, 90 years after the founding of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and received 1,453 submissions from 72 countries around the world. In September 2021, the Kellogg Foundation announced the top 10 finalists for the challenge. All finalists moved through a process of multiple levels of review, feedback and diligence involving peer applicants and multi-disciplined experts from across the world.
Carla Thompson Payton, vice president for program strategy at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, said:
“Education is a powerful tool. As our founder Will Keith Kellogg said, ‘Education is the best opportunity to improve one generation over another.
ActionAid and SETA partners organizations are using education as an entry point for building awareness of and eliminating structural racism in Brazil. We are proud to be partners for the next eight years.”
The Racial Equity 2030 Challenge was managed in partnership with Lever for Change, a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity and climate change.
More information about the Racial Equity 2030 Challenge, the awardees, and the finalists can be found at www.wkkf.org/re2030.
Contact ActionAid press office on media-enquiries@actionaid.org
ActionAid
ActionAid is an international organization for fighting poverty present in 43 countries. It was founded in England in 1972. In Brazil, it has been active since 1999, benefiting approximately 300,000 people through projects in education, agroecology, income generation for women, inclusion, and citizenship.
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special attention is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. To learn more about WKKF, visit www.wkkf.org or follow WKKF on Twitter at @wk_kellogg_fdn.
Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced more than $1 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.
