UNICATA
TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH EDUCATION AND SOCIAL INCLUSION OF WASTE PICKERS
GET TO KNOW UNICATA
The pioneering university in empowering and training collectors of recyclable materials.
"THE INCLUSIVE UNIVERSITY THAT EMPOWERS WASTE PICKERS AND TRANSFORMS REALITIES"
Universidade de Catadoras e Catadores (UNICATA) is a university for and with waste pickers, based on the pedagogy of popular education, focused on making knowledge and the practice of learning more accessible. We work as a mutual collaboration between waste pickers and academics (researchers and educators). This collective approach allows for the creation of a space of excellence in which waste pickers can access appropriate knowledge for their contexts and realities.
The creative curriculum of the UNICATA course encourages students to take part in initiatives that not only support social inclusion and improve environmental health but also provide them with the knowledge they need to manage solid waste. This fosters their growth.
ORIGINS
Waste pickers have long endured hardships because of their line of work. They are treated as inferior by society and even by themselves, and this keeps them from the opportunity to be emancipated, liberated and transformed by formal education.
Paulo Freire, a well-known Brazilian pedagogue, shared this viewpoint. He committed himself to demonstrating that education means giving the ability to interpret the world and act to transform it.
Thus, the educator has an important social role, being an agent capable of changing stories and impacting society to make it just and more sustainable. An inclusive university that trains waste pickers and transforms their realities is needed now more than ever.
ABOUT THE COURSE
CURRENTLY:
UNICATA is offering a "University Extension" degree, issued by the Federal University of ABC (UFABC) in Santo André and by the University of Victoria (UVic) in Canada.
The first course is on: “Management and Governance of solid waste with the inclusion of waste pickers for a sustainable and just society”
The course has six modules with 52 hours of classes per module and regular field visits.
MODULES:
MODULE 1: Introduction to the course: All themes raised during the research and two workshops by the waste pickers. Module 1 is an introduction to the full course.
MODULE 2: Waste Picking: History of the waste pickers movement, waste pickers as social subjects, political education, social exclusion, gender issues, social movements, etc.
MODULE 3: Governance: Regulatory and legislative aspects of waste management, extended producer responsibility, reverse logistics, circular economy.
MODULE 4: Management: Administration, human resources, financial management, accounting, computer operations, recycling technologies, safety, health, and good working conditions.
MODULE 5: Environment: Sustainability, environmental education, solid waste and environmental impacts, incineration, environmental and climate justice.
MODULE 6: Research: Research praxis focused on the context of waste pickers: (mixed research methodologies, research ethics, research project development).
Course/Module specifics...
While there are research-related activities in each of the first five modules, students will conduct in-depth research with the help of their teachers, during the sixth module. A community-based, participatory research methodology will be used in each project to foster scientific growth.
Cooperatives, governance, public policy, specifically Brazil's national solid waste legislation, circular economy, solid waste and climate change, financial administration and accounting, environmental management, occupational health, reverse logistics, human relations, and conflict resolution are some of the study areas that are covered.
The contents of all modules have been defined collaboratively with representatives of the waste pickers, based on key themes identified in the research. Before starting a new module, we invite teachers to participate in a two-day workshop with the aim of sharing the pedagogical approach, the teaching methodology and philosophy, to collectively build a common basis of these important pedagogical dimensions.
We emphasize the need for contextualization based on the concrete living and work conditions of the students and the adaptation to the specific situations encountered in each classroom.
HAVE A LOOK:
UNICATA: From the CBRL on YouTube
WHERE IS UNICATA?
Discover the locations of participating Waste Picker Cooperatives in São Paulo:
01 / 10
1
Coopercata
Mauá, São Paulo
2
Cooper Viva Bem
São Paulo
3
Cooperativa Casa do Catador
São Paulo
4
Cooperativa Sempre Verde
São Paulo
5
CooperPaC
Interlagos, São Paulo
6
Cooperativa de Trabalho de Catadores e Recicladores Ponte Baixa
São Paulo
7
Movimento Nacional dos Catadores de Materiais Recicláveis - MNCR
São Paulo
8
Cooperativa De Catadores Seletivos Parque Cocaia
Grajau, São Paulo
9
Cooperativa Cooperfenix
Diadema, São Paulo
10
Cooperativa Coopercral
Parelheiros, São Paulo
TIMELINE
2022
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH CONDUCTED INVOLVING WASTE PICKERS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES, NEEDS, AND EDUCATIONAL GOALS
2023
PILOT PROJECT: CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS CONDUCTED IN TEMPORARY SPACES TO CREATE, REFINE, AND IMPLEMENT INITIAL COURSE MODULES
2023
STAGE 1: UNICATA CLASSROOM SPACE ESTABLISHED IN SÃO PAULO. IMPLEMENTATION OF MODULE 1 AS A PILOT PROJECT (APRIL TO AUGUST) AND REPETITION OF MODULE 1 (SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER). UNICATA CLASSROOM SPACE ESTABLISHED IN BRASÍLIA. IMPLEMENTATION OF MODULE 1 AS A PILOT PROJECT (SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER).
2024
STAGE 2: CONSOLIDATION OF CLASSROOM SPACE IN SÃO PAULO AND BRASILIA
2024
STAGE 3: UNICATA CLASSROOM SPACE PLANNED FOR BELO HORIZONTE AND VITORIA
2025
STAGE 4: UNICATA CLASSROOM SPACE PLANNED TO EXPAND INTERNATIONALLY AND IMPLEMENT HYBRID (ONLINE - IN PERSON) LEARNING
WHO IS BEHIND UNICATA?
UNICATA is built on several partnerships that operate through the Executive Council, Management Council and the Advisory Councils. Partners are grouped into:
BRAZILIAN UNIVERSITIES
Instituto Federal, Brasília
Federal University of ABC
University of São Paulo
University of Brasilia
ORIS Minas Gerais
UFES (Universidade Federal Do Espirito Santo)
INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES
University of Victoria; CANADA
Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; ARGENTINA
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
Movimento Nacional dos Catadores de Materiais Recicláveis (MNCR) (National Movement of Waste Pickers)
Associação Nacional de Catadores de Materiais Recicláveis (ANCAT) (National Waste Picker Association)
UNICATADORES
Moradia, Dignidade E Direito A Ser Feliz (MDDF)
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
UNESCO
Cifal Curitiba
UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research)
WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment Globalizing and Organizing)
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Sindicato dos Advogados – São Paulo (SASP)
Observatório da Mulher (OM)
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
University of Gothenburg; SWEDEN
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology Kisumu; KENYA
University of Dar es Salaam; TANZANIA
