Coco Cultural Center of Umbigada

Through the creation of a web game and workshops to be promoted in cultural centers and public schools, the project aims to transmit the beauty of African stories as a means of combating prejudice, racism and religious intolerance. The initiative intends to be active on two educational fronts: one for the teachers at the Marechal Mascarenhas de Moraes State School on the use of tablets as an educational tool in the classroom; and one for students, in the development of two new phases of the game, together with the Coco Cultural Center of Umbigad.

• Development of creative methodologies for the use of the game Stories of Ifá on the school’s tablets as an instrument to connect students with ancestral African knowledge;
• Training of teachers and administration at the Marechal Mascarenhas de Moraes State School on the use of Stories of Ifá in classes on Afro-descendent history;
• Development of new phases of the game together with students
• Spreading the word about the game in cultural centers, schools and municipal and state secretaries of education.

The obligatory study of African History (Law 10639/03) brought new challenges to Brazilian teachers who now must disseminate, in a short time span, multidisciplinary content on the African continent, its peoples, cultures and civilizations before, during and after the era of slavery. Thus new teaching methodologies related to the theme have been appearing, especially in the areas of history, artistic education and literature.
In this sense, the Coco Cultural Center of Umbigada has as its goal to participate actively in the construction of a Brazilian cultural literacy based on the Law, proposing an interactive web game in which the player can, while having fun, gain knowledge, in a cognitive process that values playfulness and seeks to deconstruct prejudice about Afro-Brazilian religions.

The Coco Cultural Center of Umbigada’s goal is to spread the word and maintain African-rooted popular cultures.

The Coco Cultural Center of Umbigada is affiliated with the Mocambos Network, the Network of Federal and State Cultural Points, Terreiro Women’s Network (terreiro is the name used to denominate places of worship in religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda) and the Terreiros’ Network of Pernambuco.

The educational game Tales of Ifá was released to pupils, teachers and community managers where the Cultural Center lies, in Guadalupe, Olinda (Pernambuco). Publicity included advertisement on buses, being on TV shows, interviews, conferences and expositions, in addition to attending social technology awards ceremonies. Educational discussions and workshops were held with various school communities to set up game laboratories showing the beauty of the African matrix. One of these laboratories was set up at the Coco Cultural Center of Umbigada itself.