All good conferences eventually come to an end. But rarely does a conference end as poignantly as the PMI Sao Paulo Chapter's 5th Annual International Conference which closed Wednesday. In an unplanned and emotional exchange, the PMI Sao Paulo Chapter offered their services to Child Hope Brazil, a UNESCO sponsored program to address social problems unique to children.

Paulo Ferreira offers the services of the PMI Sao Paulo Chapter

Ambar de Barros and Albert Alcouloumbre react with delight

Child Hope, also known as the Children and Hope National Campaign is a UNESCO program designed:

• to contribute to the elimination of child labor
• to combat sexual abuse on children
• to reduce the child mortality rate
• to integrate disabled persons and children into society
• to promote projects that are beneficial for street children
• to support basic education for children and technical and vocational education for adolescents
• to combat drug abuse

The PMI Sao Paulo Chapter Conference closed with a presentation by Ambar de Barros of UNESCO and Albert Alcouloumbre, Director of Social Projects for the Globo Network, Brazil's largest television network. They described the purpose and activities of Child Hope Brazil, as well the encouraging results of projects underway in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte. Recognizing an obvious opportunity for project management, PMI Sao Paulo Chapter Vice President Paulo Ferreira volunteered the services of the PMI Sao Paulo Chapter. Professor Paulo Yazigi Sabbag subsequently offered the support of all the Brazilian PMI chapters as well as the PMI Educational Foundation, to the obvious delight of the Child Hope Brazil representatives.

Professor Sabbag with Ambar de Barros and Albert Alcouloumbre

It was a moment that may well turn out to be historic: the beginning of another opportunity for project managers to lead the way in solving one of the world's vexing social problems.

The PMI Sao Paulo Chapter Conference was held Tuesday and Wednesday in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a capacity attendance of 500. The international speakers included PMI Chair Louis Mercken, pmforum.org Managing Editor Hugh Woodward, PMI Frankfurt Chapter President Thomas Walenta, PMI Board Member Bruce Rodrigues, and ESI Executive Vice President LeRoy Ward.