Vale 80 years:

beyond mining

At Vale, our objective goes far beyond mining. We want to enhance opportunities, contribute to the development of the territories where we are located and plant seeds that change realities.

We are turning 80 years old, but we continue to learn, always seeking to evolve. We believe in the power of relationships with the communities in which we operate and, therefore, we invest in dialogue and encourage projects and partnerships that add social, educational, cultural and environmental value to today and the future.

Through our initiatives, such as the Vale Foundation, the Vale Cultural Institute, the Vale Volunteer Network, among others, we support projects that make a difference in the lives of participants and those who help us get them off the ground.

Check out some inspiring examples below:

Vale Foundation: Knowledge Station

The Knowledge Stations are independent institutions – sponsored mainly with direct resources from the Vale Foundation, incentivized resources from Vale and partner companies – that offer education, culture and sports activities after school hours, with children and adolescents aged between 6 and 17 years, as their main audience in Arari (MA), Brumadinho (MG), Serra (ES), Marabá and Tucumã (PA).

The reflexes of the initiative go beyond the childhood period.For Alerrandro Kanando, a former student at the Knowledge Station in Marabá/PA and, today, the project’s soccer teacher, his participation served as an inspiration for his career.

"I remember the first time I walked into that Knowledge Station gate. A different world. Another expectation and that was very striking for me.
My teachers who had with me during this trajectory, that marked me. I said: “One day I will be a teacher too, teach everything I learned and pass it on to each student, because if I had the ability to learn, I also have the ability to develop and transform the life of each student here at the Station”, he tells."

Vale Cultural Institute: Vale Música at Expo Dubai 2022

Vale Música is a project that has existed for over 20 years with the aim of developing young talents through musical training and is currently sponsored by the Vale Cultural Institute. In 2022, the project took 19 students to the United Arab Emirates for Expo Dubai, one of the biggest events in the world in the areas of culture, technology, innovation and design, with the participation of more than 190 countries.  

Among the participants was Deivid Magalhães, 24, who saw the trip as a watershed in his career:

It was the opening of a new perspective. Vale Música opened our eyes and gave us the certainty that we can go far with our music, show our work and the fruits of so much time of study.

I never imagined that my first international trip would soon be to this unusual destination. Now I can put on my resume that I played at Expo Dubai. This will make people look at me with a more detailed look”, he notes.

The importance of the project is felt not only by the students, but also by the professionals who help Vale make these initiatives possible. Ana Angélica Motta, director of Serra Knowledge Station – another educational project supported by Vale – accompanied the students on the trip and tells about the transformative experience:

With this mission, we had the opportunity to form the Orquestra Vale Música at the national level, with students from all nuclei of the Program, not to mention the opportunity for our young people to get to know an ancient culture, very different from ours, a futuristic and advanced city from the point of technological view. It was an accumulation of multiple knowledge and cultural exchanges”, he points out.

For the director, the success of the concerts and international visibility increase the responsibility of managing the Vale Música Program. “This permanent challenge makes us grow and mature as entities of social transformation”, she adds.

Vale Voluntary Network: Vale Aprender Inglês (VAI)

The Vale Volunteer Network has been in existence since 2004 and has the participation of more than 5,800 volunteers. One of the projects created by the Network takes place in Paraupebas, Pará, and for 6 years it has been teaching English for free to young people in the municipality. In this period, more than 80 students have benefited and 50 volunteers participated in the project..

Vale Aprender Inglês, known as VAI, was created through a Vale employee and network volunteer. Daniela Motomatsu Silva lived in London when she was young and gained fluency in the language. At college, which she attended in the Minas Gerais city of Ouro Preto, she began to teach English for free to many students.

When I came to live in Carajás and started working at Vale, I thought about doing something similar. In England, I did “Science Without Borders”, and I learned more English. I think it's important to share with others what we know. Knowing another language, the person gains more confidence, this is very cool. I follow some students and was thrilled to see the difference in their knowledge”, said Debora.

The positive impacts of the project are being passed on. Vale trainee Aline dos Santos Souza has been participating in the project since she was 16 years old and now, as a volunteer for the Carajás Committee of the Vale Volunteer Network, intends to share everything she has learned: