Paulo Freire Institute – PFI Somaitya Ayoob www.paulofreire.org Paulo Freire's lifework is a testament to Critical Theory. A long-time adult educator and native of Brazil, Freire worked to help the dispossessed peoples of urban and rural Brazil to find a voice. In 1964, following a military coup, his work was considered a threat to social order. Freire was arrested and exiled. He continued working with the poor while living in Chile, and later as a professor at Harvard's Center for Studies in Education and Development. In 1970, he published his first work in English, which outlined the foundation of his principals , Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Paulo Freire highlighted the importance of an institute that could arrange encounters between people and institutions whose work would be based in the same principles that ground Freire’s pedagogy. He wanted to unite people who, moved by the same dreams, could deepen their reflections, improve their practices, and strengthen themselves for the struggle to build a happier world. Thus, the Paulo Freire Institute (PFI) was founded which is today an international non-profit institution, consisting of a network of people and institutions, with members distributed in twenty-four countries. The Institute has grown and has gained a lot of experience in conducting research, consulting, developing courses, planning and producing events, and publishing books, articles, and other documents about contemporary pedagogy. The PFI site offers links and makes public materials such as photos, books, texts and videos about Paulo Freire’s life and his work, and provides the opportunity to spread his thought and amplify interest in his work. On the other hand, it facilitates contact between people and institutions with different interests in the ensemble of Paulo Freire’s work and practices as well as offering the continuing distance education through the internet. The site is originally in Spanish, the native language of Paulo Freire, surfers can access the site in English by selecting the English option on the home page. The PFI site lists the following useful links : Biography This section provides a comprehensive biography of Paulo Freire adapted from Paulo Freire: His Life, Works and Thought by Denis Collins. Purpose The goal of the Institute is to work towards the continuity of Paulo Freire’s legacy, gathering people and institutions that base their work on his ideas and work towards what Freire dreamed of and struggled for i.e. a world “less ugly, less mean, less authoritarian, more democratic, more human”. Surfers can browse through this section to read in detail the purpose and objectives of the institute. Formation This segment contains information regarding the various programs offered by the institute: Distance Education Program Due to the rapid growth of the technological evolution of the web, distance education via the internet is considered one of the most important and appropriate ways to meet educational demands when the traditional education system cannot, thus the Institute offers various distance learning courses detailed information of which can be gained from this section. Ecopedagogy Program The Paulo Freire Institute Program for Ecopedagogy1 promotes the following objectives: a) A planetary citizenship, so that all, with no exception or exclusion, may have healthy conditions in a planet able to offer life because its own life is being preserved. b) To encourage as much as possible theoretical reflections about how, in our different fields of action, economic, political, cultural, ethical, racial, and gender relations are changing as a result of the changes in the contemporary world, and the consequences of those changes on the survival of a healthy planet. c) To engage in the struggle to learn how to overcome the environmental problems that are being created by different people in their areas of the world and make possible an interchange among these people. Documentation The Paulo Freire Archive includes Freire’s personal library, files, and a media collection, which includes videos, audio tapes, compact disks, and software. The most remarkable among them are the originals of a few of Freire’s works and the considerable correspondence he conducted with some of the most important people of this century. Many of the recordings of Freire’s interviews, seminars, conferences, and above all television interviews are included in the video library.