Two organizations supported by BrazilFoundation this year are among the winners of the 2013 FINEP Innovation Award: the Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (IPTI) won in the category of Research Institute on Innovation and Technology for the northeast region; Ecology and Action (ECOA) won in the category of Social Technology for the Midwest region. The FINEP award not only encourages but recognizes innovation in Brazil.
The award ceremony took place on October 13 at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro, gathering the 28 winners of the nine categories, who received between R$ 100,000 and R$ 300,000. IPTI and ECOA will now enter the national competition, which will bring together the winners of each category.
IPTI develops solutions that integrate technology and human processes in the areas of education, public health and the creative economy. In Santa Luzia Itanhy, a fishing community in Sergipe, the organization installed a technology center to promote social and economic development based on the synergy of art, science and technology.
ECOA combats environmental degradation and strengthens the development of vulnerable communities in the Pantanal region of Brazil. Specifically, it combines scientific research and political action, while seeking to guarantee the essential rights of the inhabitants and the protection of the environment in the territory.
The award, which since 1998 has been given to more than 500 companies, institutions and individuals, is an initiative of FINEP, (Financer of Studies and Projects), a public company under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.
