As of October, Votorantim Cimentos (VC) will be developing a set of short and long-term actions in Pernambuco, geared towards the qualification of educators from the municipality of Paulista, in the Metropolitan Region of Recife. For this purpose, VC, with the support of Instituto Votorantim, is signing an agreement with the Local Government this Friday (23rd) at 2 p.m., in the city hall, targeting the deployment of a project in the city. The first phase of the initiative will be developed through art workshops with the educators of the municipal education network. The work will be carried out by the Center of Education and Documentation for Community Action (Cedac), a Public Interest Civil Society Organization (OSCIP). Once the agreement has been signed, the first workshop will be held on October 21st and 22nd. This initial stage will benefit 280 teachers assigned to four fine art workshops with lessons lasting until December 2005. According to Cedac, the workshops will serve for the personal and professional development of the educators, besides the creation of room for reflection for the educational work. At the same time, Cedac will be drafting a Plan of Action for the next four years of continued education for public school teachers together with the professionals from the Department of Education. The intention is to identify local issues in order to structure training work that is consistent with the desires and abilities of the municipality as of 2006. Votorantim will be investing around R$ 1.7 million in educational actions in Pernambuco over the next three years. It is expected that by the end of this period, approximately 9,000 thousand students, 300 teachers and 50 directors will have benefited from the project.