State public schools in Pará participate in the world's largest environmental event

The State Department of Education of Pará (Seduc), in partnership with the Limpa Brasil Institute, the official representative of the global World Cleanup Day campaign in Brazil, and with Earth Day Latam, participated in the launch of the program "My Future, My Voice - World Cleanup Day Mission", a mobilization that unites climate education and student leadership in a concrete action against pollution throughout the state.

The initiative was launched on Friday (8), at the State Bilingual Full-Time School Mestra Idalina Rodrigues Pereira, located in the Cruzeiro neighborhood in Icoaraci, on Friday (8).

The Environmental Education Coordinator (CEAM) of Seduc, Mauro Tavares, states: "Seduc Pará, in partnership with the Limpa Brasil Institute, launched the campaign at the Mestra Idalina School to kick off the major campaign that will culminate on World Cleanup Day. So we hope this partnership brings initial fruits of awareness, but mainly concrete actions within the territory, within the school spaces. It is another initiative from Seduc Pará focused on environmental education. We hope to count on the participation of all schools, to get involved in the project, and the most interesting thing is that there will be awards for the schools that develop the most effective actions," Tavares emphasized.

The initiative will take place on September 20, the date when the world celebrates World Cleanup Day, considered the largest environmental mobilization campaign on the planet, officially integrated into the UN calendar since 2024, with the participation of millions of people in over 190 countries. Due to the school calendar, activities in schools will be brought forward to September 19, ensuring the involvement of students, teachers, and managers from the state public education network.

On that occasion, the two main activities of the mobilization will be detailed: the Cleaning Campaign and the Photography Contest, aimed at awarding the best visual records of the participation of school communities. The initiative is part of the global effort of World Cleanup Day, with the participation of 180 countries, and seeks to promote student leadership and environmental awareness through practical and educational actions.

Inspired by the international movement Let’s do It! World, which began in Estonia in 2008 and arrived in Brazil in 2011, the program aims to tackle the irregular disposal of solid waste and the lack of collection in many urban and riverside areas. Brazil currently ranks fourth among the largest waste producers in the world, generating over 79 million tons per year, of which about 40% are still disposed of improperly.

"The program's proposal is to encourage state public schools in practical and educational activities that stimulate the transformation of their territories. Through gamified thematic missions, such as Zero Waste, Renewable Energies, Recycling, Water Conservation, and Sustainability in Daily Life, we aim to mobilize school communities for a large cleaning campaign, alongside awareness campaigns and collective participation," says Edilainne Muniz, executive director of the Institute.

For student Luiza Santos, from the 1st year of high school, the initiative is essential to awaken the community's interest. "This project is important and can help our community rethink before throwing something in the streets and even help the students of our school to think twice before throwing a soda can on the street or even a candy wrapper. So I think this can be very good for us, and I hope everyone gets engaged," commented the student.

Registrations - Registrations will be open from August 8 to 15, 2025, through the official website of the platform EuCuidoDoMeuQuadrado. Only one registration per school will be accepted, made by a school manager or responsible teacher.

Each participating school must appoint three representatives: one climate brigadier student, one teacher, and one manager. This team will be responsible for coordinating the actions, recording the results on the platform, and disseminating the results on social media, tagging the Limpa Brasil Institute's profile (@limpabrasil) and using the official campaign hashtags.

To support schools, the Limpa Brasil Institute will provide a digital kit for free, including posters, cards, videos, and a manual of guidelines. Access to the collaborative platform on Trello will also be provided, along with remote technical support via email and WhatsApp.

The selection of the best actions will be made by a technical committee, which will evaluate the schools based on the following assessment criteria:

Creativity and impact of the actions taken;

Involvement of the school community and the territory;

Record and organization of the action on the EuCuidoDoMeuQuadrado platform;

Integration with waste pickers, sustainability projects, or local leaders;

Student leadership and action of the Climate Brigade.

Each criterion will be scored from 1 to 5, and in case of a tie, the degree of innovation and the social reach of the initiative will be considered.

The three schools with the highest scores will be awarded educational and environmental support kits, totaling up to R$ 10,000 in items and services. The amounts will be distributed among the school, the manager, the teacher, and the standout student, and converted into products, courses, or infrastructure, without cash transfer.

All participating schools will receive an official certificate issued by the Limpa Brasil Institute and Seduc, recognizing the institutional and individual engagement of managers, teachers, and students involved. The schools will also become part of the national network of the program My Future, My Voice, with priority access to future environmental missions.

The schedule includes the following timeline:

Launch of the Notice: July 30, 2025

Registrations: August 8 to 15, 2025

Training of Climate Brigadiers: August 20, 2025

Action in Schools: September 19, 2025

Submission of Records: by September 30, 2025

Evaluation: October 1 to 7, 2025

Announcement of Results: October 10, 2025

Award Ceremony: by October 30, 2025

In addition to the cleaning campaign, schools will also be able to participate in the Photography Contest, which will award the best visual records of the school community's involvement in the action. The regulations and details are available on the website www.limpabrasil.org/concursodefotografia.

Limpa Brasil Institute - Founded in 2010 by the Group Com Atitude, the Limpa Brasil Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote education and public mobilization, in a democratic and inclusive manner, to eradicate the improper disposal of waste, restoring the environment, building a culture of recycling, conscious consumption, responsible production, circular economy, generating income for recyclable material pickers.

The Limpa Brasil Institute is the official representative in Brazil of Let’s do It! The largest global mobilization movement in defense of proper waste disposal that has already attracted more than 90 million volunteers in cleaning actions in over 191 countries. Learn more at www.limpabrasil.org and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.