Students are awarded Literary Prize

Presentation by students from the Ascom Municipal Network In times when social networks take over everyday life, it is still possible to believe that the love for literature continues to occupy space in the hearts of children and adolescents. An example of this is the participation of more than 1,500 students from the Rio das Ostras Municipal Education Network registered in the third edition of the Elementary School Literary Award, which this year has the theme “Dream that is Dreamed Together is Reality…Human Rights!”. 125 students from 19 municipal schools were awarded prizes, and their texts will be included in a book publication, after evaluation by a judging panel. The initiative has been transforming the relationship between Rio das Ostras students and reading, writing and creativity. A reflection of this is that the number of registrations has almost doubled since the last edition. This year, 1,571 students from 19 schools signed up for the project. In 2025, 849 students enrolled, representing 16 schools in the municipality. With the theme “Dream that is Dreamed Together is Reality…Human Rights!”, the texts were produced collectively, inspired by a verse from the song “Prelúdio”, by Raul Seixas, which invites reflection on human rights, an essential theme for society. The selection of works was carried out by a curator composed of experts in education and literature, who evaluated the productions on two main axes: form and content. The process resulted in the selection of literary productions that value the sensitive and critical perspective of young authors from the municipal network. "People are born free and equal in dignity and rights, regardless of their origin, skin color, religion, gender, social condition or place where they live. This is the mission of the Elementary School Literary Prize, to provoke young people to think about these rights", highlighted the creator of the Literary Prize, Graça Gomes. Encouraging creativity and reducing screen time According to Gui Fleming, member of the production team for the Elementary School Literary Award, students are invited to write texts in groups and different text formats are accepted, such as: short story, literary chronicle, journalistic chronicle, fable, diary, letter, theater sketches, poetry, rap, comic book or cordel. And different interpretations, originality, authorial language and a critical look at the proposed theme were presented in the texts. "We are living in what many call an Era of the Attention Economy, in which young people and adults are dedicating more and more time to life online. In this scenario, participating in an initiative that brings together more than 1,500 young people to disconnect from their screens for a while and dedicate themselves to reading, researching and writing is very rewarding. Giving such young authors the opportunity to publish a book that they can leaf through and show to family and friends affects their self-esteem. This is priceless and shows the importance of the Incentive Laws for Culture, which make initiatives like these possible, and the commitment of companies like Seagems to support, once again, projects like this that transform the lives of young people through education and culture”, highlights Gui.