Multiplication of knowledge

The Letters and Numbers program operates transversely in the strengthening of civil society and in the training of education professionals, strategic pillars for Itaú Social. It aims to promote the learning of reading, writing and mathematics, which are fundamental skills that allow access to the other areas of knowledge and ensure effective social participation. The program carries out the following subprograms:

• Read to a Child – encourages adults to read with children as an opportunity for strengthening bonds and for active participation in education since early childhood. Carried out in partnership with Itaú Unibanco, the program distributes children’s books chosen through a public selection process for community libraries, civil society organizations and public schools, while also promoting training programs to upgrade the actions of reading mediation.
  
  
• Writing the Future – contributes to the improvement of the teaching of this discipline in Brazil, stimulating students and teachers. To this end, it carries out various modes of in-person and remote training for educators, as well as the Portuguese Language Olympiad, developed in partnership with the MEC (Ministry of Education).
  
  
• Mathematics Education – contributes to improvements in the teaching of this discipline in Brazil, stimulating students and teachers. It holds the Brazilian Public-School Mathematics Olympiad (OBMEP), organized by the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (Impa) in partnership with the Brazilian Society of Mathematics and with MEC. The program also works to spread the Mathematics Mentalities methodology in Brazil, in partnership with Instituto Sidarta.

• Pleasure in Reading – collaborates with the articulation of the National Community Library Network, through technical and financial support, with the aim of fostering the right to read. Due to its insertion in highly vulnerable territories, in 2020 this network was essential for the support of families and the distribution of basic grocery kits.

In 2020, one of the outstanding initiatives of Letters and Numbers was the Read to a Child program, which celebrated ten years of activities by releasing an innovating and inclusive call for books, with great potential for impacting children’s literature.