Favela Garden and Pieces

"Tocando em você Institute" (ITV) is a non-profit organization created in 2000 by Educart group, aiming to democratize cultural activities through educational, artistic, therapeutic, and professional interventions.
In 2009, ITV has become one of the "Ponto de Cultura" (Cultural Venue) of the city Rio De Janeiro. Since then all of their arts programming have been offered for free to two hundred young people between 02-21 years. In addition, the organization have been benefitting artists who contribute with the development of the programming. It is estimated that more than 5000 people among artists and atendees of participate on ITVs programming yearly. ITV activities are given in classrooms in the institution as well as in the surrounding communities (favelas).
ITV is committed to strengthening the community, emphasizing and expanding the skills of the local population, encouraging taking an active role and responsibility for their own development. The institution promotes social and cultural transformation through creation and development of multidisciplinary programs for low income communities of the neighbourhood, Tijuca.
Our target groups are children from 14 - 21 years, and their families, including those with special needs. Furthermore, the ITV institution offers activities to adults and seniors through social movements, events, campaigns and projects.
All minors entering our social projects are required to be registered and attend public school or to participate in our educational school reintegration program (Social ICU). The objective in the short and medium terms is to redirect them to attend classes at local regular schools.
"Tijuca" neighborhood located in a highly concentrated area of poor communities, called Grande Tijuca. This area displays clues for a huge social contrasts between the middle class and the poor. In 29 communities (favelas) poor class representing 13% of the total population of this district, namely: 48,708,000 inhabitants. Specifically, Grande Tijuca is as a quarter with social needs of initiatives for youth, because 64% of this population is younger than 39 years, and 30% are younger than 19 years old. Regarding the level of education, 32% have only primary education. Through a multidisciplinary approach, the institution “Tocando em você” offer this socially excluded population convergent integration: culture, education, therapy, vocational integration.
Democratize access to information, education, culture, technology, creative hobbies, and health through the implementation of social programs aimed to empower and promote personal and collective change of children, youth and the needy, through continuous and periodic actions.
All ITV projects are motivated by constructivism aligned with art education. The sessions and classes are grouped by modules hosted in a collectively and / or individual basis depending on the age and circumstances of beneficiaries.
The methodology of "Tocando em você" is based on the development of emotional intelligence through the arts, guaranteeing freedom of expression built by a broad social practice. We hold a democratic management style that integrates education professionals, health practitioners, technology, and all style of arts.
ITV has 29 professionals:
1 psychologist, 1 psychomotor therapist, 1 orthopaedist, 2 drama teachers, 1 actor, 1 volunteer, 4 music teacher, 2 art teachers, 2 dance teachers, 2 special education teachers, 2 administrative employees, 3 social workers, 1 head of Education Department, 2 community arts managers, 1 communication Manager, 1 artistic director and producer.



We see the volunteering program as the opportunity to host dynamic people from other parts of the world, and together pursue our commitment to develop public education for everyone through arts and healing arts. In participating in our projects, volunteers will be able to work together with the deprived youth of our society and learn to accept everyone as a unique and rich individual.
Instituto Tocando em Você has been in operation for 20 years, and the TVR offers its participants an opening to international social work and civic engagement, using the experience of the artists and social workers involved in the NGO.
Thus, all the volunteers TVR will build relationships and interactions with professionals from ITV, involving qualified intercultural exchanges, based on dialogue, mutual respect and the desire to preserve the cultural identity of each.