I have been wanting to write about this story for a while because more people deserve to know, reflect on, and get inspired by it. When, finally, a few months ago, I decided to put the words together, I learned some sad news: one of the story’s heroes, Bernard Lachance, had suddenly passed away. The obituary, in the image of the man’s modesty, did not mention this story – possibly one of many he was involved in – nor the thousands human lives it helped change.
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I first heard of Mulheres Mil (A Thousand (Strong) Women) a few years ago, when I was conducting research for a study commissioned by the Asian Development Bank and Colleges and Institutes Canada on the lessons learned from the rich experience of Canadian public colleges and institutes.
What the case study revealed was a simple yet brilliantly conceived and executed idea, a true trailblazer that evolved from a pilot project involving 60 unemployed Brazilian women without any marketable professional qualifications, to a huge national initiative that transformed the lives of thousands and thousands of people.[1] What the people who were impacted and empowered by this initiative did not know was the story behind it: how it was born, and how it spread to the hearts of millions.
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It all started one evening in 2005 at a dinner table, with a small piece of paper, a big vision, and hearts determined to help other people who had fewer chances in life. A handful of Brazilian and Canadian educators were discussing informally a problem that had been at the heart of their life’s work, and yet appeared to be unsolvable. Extreme poverty meant too many Brazilians, especially women, were either uneducated or poorly educated, thus preventing them from having jobs. Conversely, lack of access to employment caused millions of people, mainly women, to live in poverty and sometimes in extreme poverty across Brazil, thus barring them and their children from a good quality education. This vicious circle often perpetuated itself from generation to generation, condemning entire families and regions to poverty and to personal, social, and economic impasse.
With clear goal in mind, Brazilian educators and public policy developers were passionately searching for solutions to these problems and looking at other countries’ experiences in the matter. Inspired by the Canadian public colleges’ innovative practices with adult learners, namely the Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) method and the access to continuous education for all, the Brazilian pioneers connected with Canadian educators with previous extensive and convincing experiences in countries with similar problems.
The collective passion of these enthusiasts envisioned a pilot project and quickly spread to higher education institutions in Brazil and Canada. The power of the idea captured the hearts of educators and administrators from institutions in North and North-Eastern Brazil and Canadian colleges, with Niagara College at the forefront.
Sérgio Luis Alves de França, the father of the initiative, engaged the enthusiasm and streamlined the efforts of the Brazilian educators and institutions. Gutenberg Albuquerque became its fervent educator-in-chief and intermediary between cultures and approaches. Jos Nolle, Paul Brennan, Marie-Josée Fortin and many others (unfortunately, it is impossible to name everyone) provided their expertise and engaged their passion in a project many of them afterwards considered as one of the most exciting endeavors in their lives.
The Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition process offered opportunity and structure to recognize – in terms of college credits – the wealth of knowledge and skills mature students acquire not only through education but also through employment, volunteer work, and life experiences.
Also off the beaten track, inspired by the Canadian public colleges and institutes’ open access to post-secondary education for all, the Institutos federais (Federal Institutes) – Brazil’s venerable public education institutions – until then focused on high-end beneficiaries, opened their doors to non-traditional learners, thus reconnecting with their initial mission and purpose. Essential skills and on-the-job skills training programs, career counselling, job placement services, follow-up systems, and close relationships with local employers and communities were developed and multiple access support structures were created.
To scale-up the project, the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (now Colleges and Institutes Canada) and government organizations, such as the Brazilian Cooperation Agency and the Canadian International Development Agency, provided administrative and financial support to the initiative. Municipalities, civil and community associations, business and volunteer sector’s leaders joined their leadership in spreading the effort. Ultimately, thousands of Brazilian women galvanized their own leadership to change their lives and the lives of their families and communities.
Mulheres Mil thrived like no other initiative before it.
The small pilot project with 60 unemployed women in North-Eastern Brazil evolved into a national initiative with thousands, and then hundreds of thousands of participants across the country, when Mulheres Mil integrated another skills training program, Pronotec.
In a few short years, Mulheres Mil provided thousands of women with vocational training, matching students’ interests with available jobs in each region of the country, in addition to providing citizenship, human rights and women rights education.
These newly developed skills paved the road to employment and a new life for many women. The country’s large skills deficit was reduced and economic and social outcomes improved for thousands of people, families, and for entire communities and regions. A dialogue was established between people, institutions, and cultures.
Mulheres Mil courageously went to some of the roots of the problem of poverty and exclusion and reached out directly to the most vulnerable members of society. Women were specifically chosen as the main beneficiary group of Mulheres Mil: a large amount of empirical evidence shows the greater return on human capital investment in women, because of the extended benefits – often intergenerational – to the entire household and community.
Authentic and ethical leaders unearth the best in other people and inspire their leadership. In the case of Mulheres Mil, the quiet leadership of a few inspired global citizens enabled an expression of outstanding leadership in thousands of people, changing their lives for the better. It was as though to provide an illustration to the famous quote attributed to Margaret Mead:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
It is difficult to resist the temptation to ask ourselves:
And us, what legacy will we leave to the world?
[1] The Mulheres Mil story is told beautifully through moving first-person narratives in this publication commissioned by the Ministry of Education of Brazil: http://mulheresmil.mec.gov.br/images/stories/pdf/geral/livro_mulheres_mil_ingles.pdf