Category:
Friends of Water contest awards prizes for the best essays by students from Rio's municipal school system on water conservation.
Published on 01/10/2026 - 18:13 | Updated on 01/10/2026 - 18:16
Ana Júlia Raimundo Belo, 10 years old, winner in the Best Essay category. Photo: Press Release In an atmosphere of euphoria and with the attentive gaze of the young writers, the Friends of Water Cultural Contest concluded its fourth edition, awarding the best essays produced by students from the Rio de Janeiro municipal school system on Wednesday (September 30th). In total, more than 1,700 texts from students of 49 schools in the West Zone were submitted this year, which had the theme "The water that makes us grow healthy". The closing ceremony was held at the Arena Carioca Abelardo Barbosa (Chacrinha), in Pedra de Guaratiba.
Promoted by Rio+Saneamento in partnership with the Rio Municipal Education Secretariat (SME-Rio), the contest aims to stimulate awareness among students about sanitation, environmental preservation, and the conscious use of water resources. The event was attended by the Superintendent of Sustainability of the Águas do Brasil Group and Rio+Saneamento, Nelson Carvalho; the ESG Manager of the Águas do Brasil Group, Lívia Soalheiro; the Manager of Extracurricular Pedagogical Projects of SME-Rio, Bianca Mathiesen; award-winning students and their classes; teachers and representatives from the schools, as well as representatives from SME-Rio and the 8th, 9th, and 10th Regional Education Coordination Offices (CREs).
Nelson Carvalho celebrated the success of the contest and emphasized that the main objective is to promote environmental awareness among children.
"It is with great joy that I see this arena filled with children who are talented now and future defenders of the planet. The participation of these authors demonstrates how they are valuing the issue of water resources and sanitation, which is essential for the population," he stated.
Students transform knowledge into essays; teachers participate in mobilization workshop.
In this edition, 24 prizes were awarded. The five students who wrote the best essays received bicycles, while the teachers responsible for guiding the winning texts were awarded tablets. The five schools with the highest engagement also each received a computer. The awards also included other categories, which recognized, among other criteria, the creativity and originality of the essays.
One of the winners was Ana Júlia Raimundo Belo, a 10-year-old student from the Rainha Fabíola Municipal School, who won in the Best Essay category. She took home not only the prize but also the satisfaction of the recognition.
"I really enjoyed this experience; for me, it was a lot of fun learning about water treatment and its importance," he stated.
To support this work, the concessionaire held a workshop with 60 teachers on the importance of water and environmental education, preparing educators to convey the messages and knowledge covered in the training to their students. The program was led by journalist and professor David Massena Gracioli.
Alessandra Fonseca, a teacher at the Rainha Fabíola Municipal School who guided Ana Júlia during the writing of her essay, was also awarded. For her, the most important thing was the knowledge gained from participating in the contest. “Without water we are nothing. Everyone needs to do their part to preserve it, and I am sure I did mine when we guided each student and each class and positioned them as pioneers to talk about the importance of water in our lives,” she said.
Knowledge passed on to future generations.
The closing event also included a theatrical performance for the children, as well as the presentation of the book resulting from the 2026 edition of the Friends of Water Contest to the winning students, which compiled the best and most creative essays.
Bianca Mathiesen, Manager of Extracurricular Educational Projects at SME-Rio, celebrated the partnership with Rio+Saneamento for the development of students' skills related to writing and sanitation-related content.
"What we want most is for the students to develop, and projects like Friends of Water are essential for that to happen," he commented.
For Livia Soalheiro, ESG manager at Grupo Águas do Brasil and Rio+Saneamento, society is the real winner of the Friends of Water Contest, with the formation of more conscious citizens.
"This initiative is a seed that we plant and water together with the school community, and the fruits will be harvested by future generations," he concluded.
