Harry Potter occupies the content of newspapers, but it is not about publicizing yet another adaptation of JK Rowling's literary series. This time, the wizard gives his name to a workshop in Unicamp's UniversIDADE Program, aimed at people over the age of 50. Focused on the discussion of gender and the result of master's research by Victor Menezes, master from the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH), the workshop became known in society for attracting the attention of the São Paulo press this semester, as well as the workshop on Development of Games for the elderly, offered by information technologist Fábio Ota.
This and other exchanges of knowledge could be celebrated this Thursday (14), at the end of the program, at Espaço Cultural Casa do Lago. “You don’t come here just to learn. They come to teach. And teach things that life has taught. And this is knowledge that is not written in any newspaper article; It is in the text of life. This program has a lot of sharing and, as a result, this enormous number of volunteers contributes to making this program such a success”, emphasized the general coordinator of Unicamp, professor Teresa Dib Zambon Atvars.
Perhaps this success is one of the reasons why the end of the program felt like a party. And with a shared snack. More than 900 students, according to the program coordinator, professor Kátia Stancatto, completed the semester with an even greater wealth of knowledge and leaving many lessons for the academic community.
And, if the occasion calls for a party, the UniversIDADE Choir, object of study in Daniel Duarte's master's thesis in music, colored the atmosphere by performing songs like Where are you, by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Unfortunate guess, by Noel Rosa, and Christmas songs. The presentation was conducted and participated by the workshop monitors, coordinated by the professor at the Institute of Arts, coordinator of the Ópera Studio and the Center for Integration, Documentation and Cultural Diffusion at Unicamp (Ciddic), Angelo Fernandes.
In an engaging presentation, a large circle formed in the multipurpose room for biodanza experiences. In addition to welcoming guests, the activities showed part of what the students absorbed in workshops such as hip hop, tai chi chuan, ballroom dancing and performing arts.
This semester, in fulfillment of expectations announced at the reception event for new students at the beginning of the year, in addition to welcoming people from the external community, part of the activities were carried out beyond the campus, as a group of volunteers offered two workshops to 120 seniors from NGO Maria Rosa, in the northern region of Campinas.
For the vice-rector of Extension and Community Affairs (Preac), Fernando Hashimoto, it is increasingly necessary to expand, improve and seek partnerships for the program, according to the numbers presented. “The path now is to seek external partnerships and better structure it to accommodate 900 students. This number is greater than the total number of students in a teaching and research unit, which shows that great attention is needed to offer quality. After all, quality is a synonym that Unicamp has, and we need to expand it for you”, he states.
Teresa recalled that, despite Unicamp facing a time of crisis, the program continues to receive support from the Rectory and Preac. “We are still in difficult times, but you, better than any of us, know how difficult life is and how infinite our ability to often overcome physical, emotional and financial difficulties is. And let's move on. This is what we expect from this program, carried out with those who already know a lot about life, giving us strength to continue our activities, with creativity, with intelligence, with will, with perseverance, with determination. We look forward to seeing you next year, continuing with the program and helping Unicamp achieve the projection and quality it has.”
