On November 22, in Brasilia, the winners of the Banco do Brasil Foundation Social Technology Award were announced and our board members, Rita Andréa and Inês Meneguelli, represented the Fund in their best style and elegance. Each winning initiative received a prize worth 80,000 reais. One technology was awarded from each region of the country and one from each special category: "Rights of Children and Adolescents and Leadership Juvenil"; "Management of Water Resources"; "Participation of Women in the Management of Social Technologies" and "Social Technology in the Construction of Public Policies for the Eradication of Poverty".
The award, which has been held every two years since 2001, aims to publicize and reward effective solutions to serious social and environmental problems that can be replicated in other regions of Brazil. This year's award saw a record number of entries, with 1116 social technologies registered.
What is Social Technology?
Social Technology comprises reapplicable products, techniques or methodologies developed in interaction with the community and which represent effective solutions for social transformation. The Social Technologies certified by the Banco do Brasil Foundation become part of the Social Technologies Bank - BTS, an online database available at www.tecnologiasocial.org.br containing information on the technologies and institutions that developed them. The BTS is the main instrument used by the Banco do Brasil Foundation to disseminate, promote and encourage the reapplication of Social Technologies.