Andrea Blair Vasconcelos

Andrea left VCB in 2001. She is now living and working in Fortaleza, Brazil and has recently completed her professional doctorate in education. She works as an independent critical global educator, involved with a non-profit organisation called IPOM, which stands for Instituto Povo do Mar. IPOM is an organisation inspired by surfing to bring informal educational opportunities to children and young people. Fluent in Portuguese, Andrea works with children aged from 6-16 years old who live in a violent and marginalized favela community in a city of over 3 million people. Andrea teaches English and IPOM also offers classes in Maracatu drumming, Art and computers as well as providing psychological support for students. In this context Andrea also works to educate university students from Europe and North American who come with an interest in development education. She works to develop critical awareness of ethical responsibility between cultures and also teaches research methods and ethics to undergraduates.