Bett Brasil, Latin America’s largest education and technology event, convened its working group—composed of the Advisory Board—on December 1 to officially launch the 2023 Agenda and plan the content program for the 28th edition of Bett Brasil, which will take place May 9–12 at the Transamerica Expo Center in São Paulo. Bett Brasil’s general director, Claudia Valério, and content director, Adriana Martinelli, led the meeting and presented the new initiatives the organization has prepared for 2023.

“Bett Brasil was born out of the idea of dialogue, and that is what drives us to bring together all sectors of education to discuss and present proposals for an event that aims, above all, to collectively transform Brazilian education,” Adriana explained. Claudia explained that, following experiences with both online and in-person events in recent years, in 2023 Bett Brasil completed its transformation into a 360° platform designed to foster connections 365 days a year. 

Content Director Adriana Martinelli presented the new features coming to Bett Brasil next year (Photo: Fabio Eufrasio)

Among the new features on the Bett Brasil calendar for next year are the Bett Meetings—in-person gatherings for groups of professionals, particularly administrators, school operators, and educational leaders—designed to foster relationships, connections, and business opportunities based on specific content, and the Bett Tour, which will feature traveling events in the South and Northeast regions of the country with smaller audiences (about 1,000 participants and 30 exhibitors) and content tailored to administrators and school operators in K-12 education.

Bett Brasil 2023, which takes place in May, will feature new initiatives, such as Connect@Bett—a networking and business program designed to connect participants with exhibitors in a personalized way, facilitating effective connections in an environment conducive to initiating conversations—and Bett Lab, a space for dialogue between educational administrators and leaders and exhibitors for mentoring. Also taking place at the event will be Ahead by Bett, a side event featuring an exhibition area and content dedicated to higher and vocational education.

Bruno Quick, technical director of Sebrae, and Wellington Cruz, president of the Significare Institute, attended the launch of the Transformative Educator Award (Photo: Fabio Eufrasio)

Another new feature is the Transformative Educator Award, which will be organized through a partnership between Sebrae, the Significare Institute, and Bett Brasil. The awards ceremony will take place during Bett Brasil and is expected to showcase the work of 70 finalist teachers across seven categories. In terms of the event’s structure, Bett Brasil is also introducing innovations for next year, with nine simultaneous content stages and an expanded exhibition area.

A discussion on education and work for new futures marked the conclusion of the meeting (Photo: Fabio Eufrasio)

Advisory Board

Based on the central theme “Education and Work for New Futures,” which will guide all activities at the 28th edition of Bett Brasil, the event’s Advisory Board used the meeting to discuss its role in mentoring and guiding the educational proposals that will be included in the content program, as well as the format in which they will be presented to the public. 

The content director of Bett Brasil emphasized that the five committees—the Strategic Policy Committee, the Basic Education Committee, the Higher Education Committee, the Vocational Education Committee, and the Governance Committee—that make up the Council have the potential to strengthen these collaborations and dialogues, toward an agenda that addresses the future of education. “How can we collaborate more? Here on the Council, we have representatives from government, the private sector, and academia… how can we contribute more to the development of education?” Adriana asked.

Board members were able to propose topics and panel discussions for the 2023 Bett Brasil Conference (Photo: Bett Brasil)

A member of the Strategic Policy Committee, Sister Adair Aparecida Sberga, vice president of ANEC (National Association of Catholic Schools), noted that the committee’s collective and collaborative efforts have focused on educational and social development, encompassing the world of work, technology, employability, vocational education, and the school curriculum, while also incorporating social-emotional learning and human rights into the proposal. “Our role is to help design the structure of a conference that aims to discuss, learn, and envision the innovation process for each educational organization, each school, and each educational institution,” stated Sister Adair.

School Guardian founder and CEO Leo Gmeiner, who is also a member of the Strategic Policy Committee, highlighted the need for customization and individualization in learning—something made possible by today’s technology. “I believe it’s extremely important that we—edtech companies, startups, or businesses involved in the education sector—have the opportunity to listen more and more to our clients’ needs. For me, it’s very important to solve real problems from the perspective of the educational community, not just from the perspective of entrepreneurs,” he said. 

“Bett Brasil is open to hearing from everyone, and our contribution here is in the area of higher education, sharing experiences that are amplified by the group’s various ideas,” noted Domingos Machado, president of the Tiradentes Innovation Center and a member of the Higher Education Committee. Also a member of the same committee, Romero Tori, an associate professor at Poli-USP, elaborates on the topics that will be proposed for the event—beyond technology in education—such as hybrid education based on new media, immersive education, the metaverse, and artificial intelligence.

Members of the Advisory Board at a meeting to discuss preparations for Bett Brasil 2023 (Photo: Bett Brasil)

Alexandre Le Voci Sayad, director of ZeitGeist and a member of the UNESCO MIL Alliance, explained that the Basic Education Committee’s proposal is to address teacher training, innovation, and teaching practices, as well as technologies as a practical component of initial teacher training. “We must include media literacy and artificial intelligence, highlighting and addressing ethical issues, as well as the dialogue between formal and informal education.” 

Also a member of the Basic Education Committee, Katia Stocco Smole, Executive Director of the Reúna Institute, noted that important issues surrounding the curriculum, the restructuring of learning in the post-pandemic era, hybrid education, and the new high school system should be brought up for discussion during the event.

“At this point, I also think it’s important for Bett Brasil to strongly highlight the results of math learning in Brazil, which are very poor. The Brazilian state with the highest ranking in this subject today is Espírito Santo, which has a history of progress in education and yet has not reached the ideal level, as 90% of its students leave school without adequate math skills,” said Katia. 

The president of UNDIME-Nacional, Luiz Miguel Garcia, a member of the Governance Committee, spoke about Bett Brasil’s expansion beyond its traditional focus on the private sector and how it hopes to contribute to issues related to public schools.

“We have a 522-year gap, and public education must bring the entire country together, understand the needs and the world of work, and recognize the differences in every part of the country. At Bett Brasil, it will be essential to engage in dialogue with administrators and teachers to foster a positive discourse focused on building possibilities and, from there, develop solutions that can truly and profoundly impact the day-to-day operations of public schools,” he said.