The company will work with SOS Amazônia, Associação Onçafari and Instituto Esporte & Educação (IEE)
Nike, through FISIA, the brand’s official distributor in Brazil, announced its commitment to three Brazilian organizations, aimed at combating the negative effects of climate change, environmental preservation and fostering community development through sport, with a focus on in the Amazon.
The company will work with SOS Amazônia, Associação Onçafari and Instituto Esporte & Educação (IEE) to advance efforts to help protect the planet — and with it — the future of sport.
“From extreme weather to poor air quality, people face weather-related barriers to exercising and playing sport every day. Because of this, sustainability is one of Nike’s priorities and we have set science-based goals to help reduce our environmental impact and to make children more active,” commented Bruno Teixeira, Senior Purpose Manager at FISIA.
By collaborating with partners working to preserve wildlife and forests, Nike wants to contribute to local sustainability efforts.
SOS Amazônia, together with Nike, will restore 200 hectares (an area equivalent to 200 football fields) by planting 400,000 trees by 2025.
“In addition to expanding our operations in the Amazon, the partnership also gives us the possibility to raise our cause with new audiences, giving us the opportunity to make more people aware of the importance of acting to change this scenario”, highlighted Álisson Maranho, technical secretary. from SOS Amazon.
The Onçafari Association, created 10 years ago with the objective of developing ecotourism and preserving Brazilian biodiversity, in partnership with Nike, will enable initiatives aimed at protecting the jaguar by intensifying research and monitoring the species in 4 different biomes, especially in the Amazon, for the next three years.
“Brazil is considered the key country for the conservation of the species because it has the largest population of jaguars on the planet, but it is estimated that in the last 27 years there has been a population reduction of 30% in the country and a decline is projected. of over 30% in less than three decades. Having the conditions to strengthen our operations in the Amazon, through the partnership with Nike, is essential to reverse this projection”, reported Mario Haberfeld, founder of Onçafari.
To expand access to sport, Nike teamed up with Instituto Esporte & Educação (IEE), created in 2001, to foster connection with Amazonian communities through sports programs in the city of Lábrea, in the south of the state of Amazonas.
Extracurricular activities will be carried out in two public schools and in two indigenous communities, with the support of the Municipal Department of Education, the Federation of Indigenous Organizations and Communities of the Middle Purus (FOCIMP) and the Mpumalanga Institute. In addition to regular activities, such as educational sports and arts classes, there will be training for sports educators to build capacity and strengthen the local sports culture.
“The proposal for sports activities after school hours aims to expand the access of children from Lábrea to the organized and pedagogically planned movement, positioning the movement’s culture as an important school component. The initiative will also strengthen local partners, training managers and teachers , which will be fundamental for the promotion of the sports culture that brings so many benefits to society”, explained Ana Moser, founder of Instituto Esporte & Educação.
