E-book sobre ações da Rede Federal de enfrentamento ao Coronavírus

PREFACE

The year 2020 is certainly being a turning point for humanity, in  all  the  aspects  of  our  existence  and  coexistence,  especially  for  education  and,  thus,  for  the  entire  Federal  Network  of  Vocational,  Scientific, and Technological Education.

Over   a   hundred   years   old,   the   Brazilian   vocational   and   technological education had to adapt and restructure itself in light of the new Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To respect the necessary social distancing, the institutions suspended their on-site educational and administrative activities; nonetheless, they kept contributing to facing  the  increasing  advance  of  the  infection  in  the  country,  while  also seeking to reinvent their own educational activities.

The   institutions   within   the   Federal   Network   (38   Federal   Institutes   of   Education,   Science   and   Technology;   2   Federal   Technological   Education   Centers,   and   the   Colégio   Pedro   II),   supported by their faculty, technical-administrative staff, students, and  other  volunteers,  joined  their  scientific  and  technological knowledge and skills with their sensitivity and responsibility before the social drama and need to face the greatest public health problem of this century, in order to minimize its harmful impacts on human life in the different and peculiar territories of its institutional scope.

Our  excellent,  f ree,  public,  and  socially  referenced  model  of  education  has  carried  out  a  myriad  of  initiatives,  with  both  public  funding   and   private   donations,   by   producing   and   developing   technological devices to help and support the Brazilian population in the fight against COVID-19, as well as implementing a set of solidary social actions.

In large and small cities, as well as in remote places where the federal,  state  and  municipal  governments  often  struggle  to  reach,  the  Federal  Network  institutions  played  their  role,  so  that  health  professionals  could  do  their  job,  small  rural  farmers  could  still  sell  their products, and students and their families would not starve.

This digital book “Federal Network of Professional, Scientific, and Technological Education in the fight against COVID-19” details several   activities,   such   as   the   production   of   70%   alcohol,   the   manufacturing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), as well as repairing  medical  ventilators,  and  the  creation  of  applications  to  monitor the pandemic evolution.

Despite  the  difficulties  and  uncertainties  of  the  last  four months,  we  can  rightly  affirm  that  investments  in  education, science, and technology are essential for structural transformations to take place in a country, for the benefit of its institutions and population.  Therefore,  we  wish  that  such  positive  actions  and  the  funding  of  excellent,  f ree,  public  educational  institutions  may  last  and be intensified in the post-pandemic period.

Fraternal regards

Jefferson Manhães de Azevedo

Rector of the Instituto Federal Fluminense (IFF) 
Coordinator of the International Relations Chamber and the UNESCO/UNEVOC 
Center within the Conselho Nacional das Instituições da Rede Federal de Educação Profissional, Científica e Tecnológica (Conif).