SAO PAULO, Nov., 2008 - FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company and Junior Achievement São Paulo, the largest and oldest education organization with experience in economy and business have joined forces. Since September, the two companies have promoted Novo Mundo (New World) program in an elementary school in São Paulo. The program, developed by Junior Achievement, offers the opportunity of integrating underprivileged children to the business world.
Approximately 120 students from thefifth toeighth grades were guided by 12 FedEx volunteers in discovering the fundamental aspects of global trade, how imports and exports work and how the current economic crisis affects the trade relations between countries. Through fun, interactive activities, the program prepared the young people to develop a miniature international marketing program.
FedEx is concerned with improving the communities’ professional standards in order to foster greater economic development in underprivileged areas. “For FedEx, performing in the community is an extension of our concern with human capital. Working with children highlights the fact that good opportunities can be created early on and success is reached when there is awareness of their importance and role in the world. Along with Junior Achievement, we help create these opportunities,” said Carlos Ienne, managing director of FedEx Express for the Mercosur region.
Junior Achievement, in turn, joins the private and public sectors to awaken the business spirit in teenagers in elementary and middle schools, teaching business development, deals and economy in a practical manner.
FedEx guides children about the global market
“Junior Achievement’s philosophy is that life is a path, not a fate, and you are the architect of your path. We seek to encourage children to believe in this philosophy. Thus, through experiences between companies and students, the theory taught in the classroom becomes practical,” explains Priscila Tavares, project implementation analyst and coordinator of the Nosso Mundo program.
At the end of the program, the students presented a miniature international marketing project developed in the classroom and received a course completion certificate, offered by Junior Achievement.
Quality public education is vital to business sustainability and economic growth in Latin America, according to a study commissioned to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) by FedEx Express Latin America & Caribbean Division (FedEx Express LAC). The study, In Search of Business Sustainability: Latin American Education and the Role of the Private Sector, reveals the crucial link between the private sector’s contributions to building human capital and stimulating economic growth.
“FedEx commissioned this study to further develop the dialogue around the private sector’s impact on education and spur the exchange of best practices,” adds Ienne. “Increasingly, businesses recognize that an unskilled workforce impacts their bottom lines and ability to compete, making this a critical priority for the private sector.”
To downloaded the study www.eiu.com/sponsor/FedEx/LatinAmericanEducation.
About Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement is the largest and oldest education organization with practice in economy and business, registering the fastest growth in the world. Created in the United States, in 1919, it is a non-profit educational foundation, maintained by private initiative. Today it is present in over 100 countries, and, for 25 years has been in Brazil, it serves more than 7 million young people a year, in all the states of the country, preparing them to be future businessmen.
About FedEx Express
FedEx Express is the world’s largest express transportation company, providing fast and reliable delivery to every U.S. address and to more than 220 countries and territories. FedEx Express uses a global air-and-ground network to speed delivery of time-sensitive shipments, by a definite time and date with a money-back guarantee. FedEx Express Latin America & Caribbean Division services more than 50 countries and territories throughout Latin America and the Caribbean and employs more than 3,400 people committed to total customer satisfaction each business day.