Itaú BBA prioritizes support for projects to improve elementary education, as well as activities to enhance culture and quality of life for low-income groups in Brazil during the year 2007. Educational projects “Parceiros Vitae” ("Partners Vitae") program supporting technical-agricultural education: created by Vitae - Support for Culture, Education and Social Development, the program, now managed by Fundação de Apoio à Tecnologia (Technology Support Foundation - locally FAT), works to implement and disseminate curricular modernization and technology in technical and agri-technical schools. Parceiros Vitae (Vitae Partners) program consists of a) asking selected technical schools from different parts of Brazil to submit projects for enhancing their educational capacity through laboratories, more teaching resources and teacher training; b) analyzing and approving the best projects; c) allocating funds to implement the winning proposals and supervise their execution. Eleven projects were approved in this period. The group of bodies involved, in addition to Itaú BBA, comprises Vitae, Fundação Lemann, Instituto Unibanco, and FAT. Alfabetização Solidária (Caring Concern Literacy): fostering access to regular cycles of elementary education for young people and adults. Itaú BBA resources allocated helped included the project to distribute eyeglasses for students – Projeto Ver (Project To See). The resources used also helped with the education of 2,425 students and training for 97 reading-writing instructors in seven municipalities of the Northeast region. Acaia Sagarana: support and encouragement for low-income pupils who have a good school history. This fund is for pupils in the public school system that have studied and obtained good grades, or are currently studying and doing well in their schoolwork. In 2007, the program assisted young people with classes in Portuguese language, mathematics, history, geography, physics, chemistry, and biology. Contents were selected for the classes with the aim of ensuring the basic knowledge pupils required to continue their studies successfully. In the same year, Itaú BBA was pleased to see four students passing examinations to enroll at public universities, two at private universities under the ProUni government grant program, and 12 successfully sitting examinations and obtaining full scholarship grants for the Anglo preparatory course for university admission examinations. Ária Social: space for dance and art that serves children and young people from needy communities in the municipal school system of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, in Pernambuco. Constellation: strengthening the network of socioeducative centers as underpinning for excellence initiatives in the fields of preschool education, reinforcement classes, female leadership, and community development in needy communities in Rio de Janeiro. Fundação Getúlio Vargas Scholarship Fund: educational loan program using resources from the bank to assist with tuition for students taking the FGV Business Administration program. Different languages in the work of the Child Education Center (locally CEI): new times and spaces: this two-year duration project assisted 150 under-six-year-olds, 27 teachers, an educational methods coordinator, and a school director at the Antonia M. Lamberga child education center (CEI) in São Paulo. The focus of the 2007 program was verbal language (oral and written) prioritizing everyday educational practices in child education. At the Dilermando Dias dos Santos Municipal Elementary School, advisors from Assessoria Vera Cruz conducted a study of the social situation around this education unit, with initial survey, which led to their defining the need for a teacher training process in 2008, with the focus on the initial cycle of elementary education. Livro “Escolas em Diágolo” (Schools in Dialogue Book): the book aims to share experiences and discuss problems related to upgrading educational practices and composition of teams in education. ARCO Beneficent Association: offers an education program for pupils aged under 22 residing in the periphery of São Paulo. Community support initiatives Hospital São Paulo - Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP): Hospital São Paulo is a teaching and training center for UNIFESP, but also provides free medical care to the population through the public health care system (local acronym SUS). Itaú BBA donated resources to the institution to refurbish facilities and purchase equipments for use by ear, nose and throat specialists. Associação de Assistência à Criança e à Transplantada do Coração (Association for Assistance to Children with Heart Disease or Transplants – ACTC): the associations assists children with severe heart diseases who travel from all over Brazil and neighboring countries for treatment at Instituto do Coração (Heart Institute) in São Paulo, accompanied by their mothers or companions. In 2007, ACTC helped 2,136 cases over the year. Instituto São Paulo Contra a Violência (São Paulo Against Violence Institute): this nonprofit organization consists of business and non-governmental entities, as well as universities and media companies. It has the objective of collaborating with society and government to reduce violence and criminality in the city of São Paulo. Instituto WCF Brasil (WCF Institute Brazil): It is a non-profit organization founded by Queen Silvia of Sweden, and associated with World Childhood Foundation. WCF Brasil supports and develops programs whose focus is combating sexual harassment of children and adolescents. Itaú BBA also supported the following community project: Ronald McDonald Institute (campaign for children with cancer), Hospital São Vicente de Paulo (free care for the population of Araçuaí, state of Minas Gerais and neighboring cities in Vale do Jequitinhonha) and WWF Brasil (conservation of biodiversity). Projects in the cultural field Concurso Itaú BBA de Fotografias (Itaú BBA Photography Competition): the themes this year were "Tree in Flower", "Nature in Flower" and “Agricultural Plantation in Flower". This traditional Itaú BBA competition distributed prizes for amateur and professional photographers from all over Brazil. A jury consisting of well-known personalities from the worlds of photography way and environmental conservation evaluated the 2,542 photographs entered and gave awards for 77 works. The images have been published on Itaú BBA’s website and were featured at exhibitions. Concurso Avistar Itaú BBA de Fotografias (Itaú BBA Bird Watching Photography Competition): around the theme “Brazilian Birds", the competition provides prizes for the best images of birds found in Brazil, photographed in their natural setting. The selection was made by an international jury and all winning photographs pictures were shown during the Encontro Brasileiro de Observações de Aves - Avistar (Brazilian Bird Watching Conference) which was held in Parque Villa-Lobos, São Paulo. The objective of the event was to encourage watchers to register and conserve Brazilian birds. Museu da Casa Brasileira (Brazilian Home Museum): this institution in São Paulo shows copies of furniture from 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Along with this, the museum provides space for temporary exhibitions and organizes discussions, courses, and lectures on themes related to architecture and design. Centro da Cultura Judaica (Jewish Culture Center): this institution is active in cultural promotion and strengthening ties between the Jewish community and Brazilian society. Projects eligible for tax deductions under the Rouanet Law and the Audiovisual Law Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo – MAM (Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo): this is one of Brazil’s most important modern art museums. In 2007, Itaú BBA sponsored an exhibition titled "Vieira da Silva in Brazil", which showed works by the Portuguese painter Maria Helena Vieira da Silva during the period she lived in Brazil. It also supported the Igual Diferente (Same Different) Program for people with special needs. Tucca – Associação para Crianças e Adolescentes com Câncer (Association for Children and Adolescents with Cancer): the institution organizes musical concerts with the objective of raising funds for Tucca, whose mission is to raise the level of cures and quality of life for children and young people with brain tumors. Fundação Magda Tagliaferro (Magda Tagliaferro Foundation): Itaú BBA supported the Jovens Talentos (Young Talents) project, which runs a program for selection, training, assistance, and public presentations for 12 scholarship pianists aged 10 - 18. The adolescents take part in local and international piano competitions to encourage their specialization at the beginning of their artistic career as professionals. Other cultural projects supported Film - A Montanha (The Mountain) Book - Casas (Homes) Film - No Retrovisor (In the rear-view mirror) Municipal Theater - Rondonópolis (MT) Book - História do Brasil Vivida (History of Brazil)