The Italo Ferreira Institute celebrated its third anniversary this Friday (October 24) with the presence of the world and Olympic surfing champion who gives his name to the organization and serves as its patron. The event took place at the Institute’s headquarters in Baía Formosa (RN) and brought together partners, students, and collaborators.
The Institute was inaugurated on October 27, 2022, with the mission of promoting education, sustainability, and sports for children and young people in the local community. It currently serves 126 children aged 6 to 12, who take part in classes on financial education, motivational leadership, computer literacy, English, as well as recycling, composting, and waste management.
To give an idea of the project’s positive impact, over the past three years the Institute has changed the lives of more than 300 children, young people, and their families, providing over 21,000 services through sports, educational activities, environmental education workshops, and preventive health care.
“The Institute’s headquarters has an incredible story. It used to be my grandmother’s house, where she welcomed my parents when they didn’t have a home of their own. And today, it’s the Institute that supports so many people. That’s truly rewarding. I hope to do even more for the community,” said Italo Ferreira, patron of the Institute, during the event.
Beyond Sports
In the field of sports — an essential tool for social transformation — the Institute aims to promote quality of life, well-being, discipline, and teamwork through surfing lessons and other activities that connect children directly with nature in a sustainable environment.
The Institute’s activities are guided by the same values that Italo Ferreira has embraced since he first started surfing as a child. The son of a fisherman, Italo witnessed firsthand how environmental problems — ocean pollution, overfishing, and deforestation of the Caatinga — affected his family’s livelihood.
Seeking to give back to both nature and the Baía Formosa community, which has around 9,000 residents, the Institute uses solar energy and maintains a vegetable garden, where children and teenagers participate in educational and hands-on activities across multiple areas of learning.
As the Institute celebrates its third year, the champion reflected on its progress:
“We’ve grown in recent years, reaching more and more children. This inspires us to continue expanding our work, empowering new generations through education, sustainability, and sports,” said Italo.
