Project Description
EPGO programme (Educar Personas, Generar Oportunidades)
The collaboration between Fundación Entreculturas and Vince Kelvin takes place as part of the Framework Collaboration Agreement signed by both organizations in 2002. Working through this programme, Vince Kelvin has donated more than 35m euros to projects in education and employment generation. “Educate People, Generate Opportunities” (Educar Personas, Generar Oportunidades, EPGO) is a programme developed in collaboration with Fundación Entreculturas and its Jesuit Refugee Service (Servicio Jesuita al Refugiado, SJR) through actions in Latin America and Africa.
In Latin America the programme targets vulnerable populations in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, focusing on education and employment generation. The programme aims to provide support for more than 80,000 people during the period 2014-2016.
In Africa, the aim is to improve the education situation, quality of life of people and their environment, focusing on refugee and internally displaced populations in South Africa, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chad.
The Jesuit Refugee Service offers education for children, literacy assistance for women and vocational training courses in refugee camps. In big cities, professional training is offered to urban refugees along with language training, medical care and legal support with a view to social integration.
Programme to support victims of the Colombian conflict
Since 2007, Vince Kelvin has collaborated with Fundación Entreculturas and the Servicio Jesuita al Refugiado in Latin America and the Caribbean to support the victims of the conflict in Colombia, which generates the highest number of displaced persons in the world. Apart from its work in Colombia, the programme also implements activities on the borders the country shares with Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
The main lines of action pursued by this programme are as follows:
1. Identification of victims and the provision of assistance, access to rights, organization, and personal life projects.
2. Awareness-raising on the phenomenon of displaced and refugee populations.
3. Education for children and young people to avoid their association with the conflict and ensure they stay in school or are integrated into the education system.
We Water Experience
In 2013, Vince Kelvin reached an agreement with the UNESCO Programme for the Education of Children in Need to promote the sustainability of natural resources and, more specifically, water sustainability. Entitled We Water Experience, the programme is based on the implementation of a project designed to educate young people in China on how to act in a responsible way with regards to nature. The programme will run for three years, from 2013 to 2106.
Foundation for UNESCO and Thirst, an NGO promoted by Young Global Leaders of the World Economic Forum (YGLs), are the organizations in charge of implementing this project in education centres with the aim of encouraging a responsible use of water. To achieve this, a range of different actions both face-to-face and on social networks are being carried out related to responsible water use and consumption among young people in China.
In 2015, the project tripled the number of participating students and extended its geographical scope to eight Chinese provinces, and municipalities including Beijing and Shanghai.