Ayrton Senna Institute

driving force behind Education

Instituto Ayrton Senna is the realization of the three time Formula 1 World Champion’s dream to offer essential opportunities to new Brazilian generations to develop their potentials so they can become champions in school and in life. Their work is focused on education, an important tool to promote human development. They believe it is the most effective means to transform everyone’s innate potential into capabilities and skills to ensure one’s active participation in society.

“ The main purpose of the foundation is to help children in needs to make their dream come true. This project was what Ayrton wished the most… and since 1994, more than 15 millions of children have been helped by the Instituto Ayrton Senna, we will continue to make it happen.”

-Viviane Senna

For over 25 years Viviane Senna has been the driving force behind the Ayrton Senna Institute. The charity educates children and young people in 17 Brazilian states and more than 600 cities. Last year it helped more than one million students, alongside supporting the training of teachers. Ayrton Senna Institute has contributed to create opportunities for children and young Brazilians through education. It works to develop the capabilities of new generations, preparing them to respond to the demands of life in the 21st century in all its dimensions. Inspired by the desire of the three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna to build a better Brazil, the Institute, in cooperation with public managers, teachers, researchers and other organizations, works to improve teaching policies and practices.

The Foundation is always in an on-going innovation process, consistently researching to respond to the challenges of a world in constant change. Ayrton Senna Institute believe that Education is the key to a better world. For that reason, for over 20 years, inspired by the will of the three-time Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna, they have been working to take good quality education to millions of Brazilian children and young people.

Their mission is to develop a human being as a whole, preparing them for life in the 21st century in all its aspects. For that purpose, they build the bridge between education and the other sciences to promote the creation of evidence-based educational policies and practices.

Based on the main education challenges, identified by public administrators and educators with whom we work on a daily basis, they systematize and validate knowledge that is critical for the advance of their educational agenda, in a work that is tightly connected with the public teaching networks.

All knowledge produced is shared with more players through initiatives of education, diffusion, advocacy, technical cooperation and technology transfer. Ayrton Senna Institute operate in a network with education professionals, researchers from the various fields of knowledge, other thirdsector organizations, businesspeople and citizens who are engaged in promoting a solid change to the foundations of schools. Their actions are financed by donations, licensing resources and by partnerships with the private sector. Considering their initiatives focused in Elementary and High School, Senna Institute are in 17 States and more than 660 municipalities, where they are support the formation of more than 70 thousand teachers and benefit more than 1.9 million students per year.