News A special cultural exchange programme that connected 17 state schools in Rio de Janeiro with schools in other countries around the world concluded with a special ceremony on Tuesday (19 July) at the award-winning Art Museum of Rio Launched in February this year by the Rio 2016 organising committee, the Conexão Transforma project has built lasting bridges between Brazil and schools in 17 countries: Argentina, Canada, Cape Verde, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Peru, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and the USA Youngsters and authorities from the schools visited the Art Museum on Tuesday Every school which participated in the initiative was given a replica of the Olympic torch During the project, participating schools swapped gift boxes containing typical items and, in this Olympic year, produced films explaining some of the most popular sports in their countries Each school will also hold small fairs at which they will show parents and other visitors what their students have learned about the cultures of their partner institution overseas "Normally, we see a lot of photos but we don't have real contact," said 16-year-old Laurene Souza at the museum on Tuesday Laurene's school in Rio was paired with a school in Panama "It is very important to understand different cultures through more than just photographs " Laurene Souza (l), with the consul of Panama, was delighted with the friendship box from the school in central America (Photo: Rio 2016) Lasting legacy The cultural and sporting connections built by Conexão Transforma will last long after the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games "We want to plant the seed for you to maintain this relationship and for future generations of your schools to continue to enjoy this legacy," Vanderson Berbat, director of education at Rio 2016, told participants in the initiative on Tuesday In total, the Transforma education programme of Rio 2016 has involved more than seven million youngsters in over 12,000 schools all over Brazil Some 20,000 people also tried their hands at Olympic and Paralympic sports in special festivals that were organised as part of the initiative Furthermore, since 2014 the programme has helped create more than 7,000 jobs in sports education and training It has helped bring new sports to thousands of youngsters across the country; according to the Brazilian rugby confederation, rugby has grown by 80 per cent in Brazilian schools as a direct result of Transforma Rio 2016 education programme to go global with online launch One of the strongest of the international links constructed by the Conexão Transforma project is that between a school in Rio, host of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the host city for 2020 – Tokyo Smile for the camera: participating schools were given replica Olympic torches (Photo: Rio 2016) Later this year, students at the Erich Walter Heine school in Santa Cruz, an underprivileged neighbourhood in western Rio, will be receiving lessons in manga and origami and learning more about Japanese life, thanks to the efforts of the exchange programme and the Japanese consulate in Rio Meanwhile, youngsters at the Pedro Álvares Cabral school enjoyed a rich exchange of gifts and ideas with a school in Potsdam, outside the German capital Berlin One talented young student from Rio even won a scholarship to study German at the famous Goethe Institute Schoolchildren in Rio are now keen to nurture the new links that the programme has established with their peers in far-away countries Laurene Souza hopes to keep up the connection with her new colleagues in Panama "If both parties want to maintain their ties, then everything is possible I want to!" A student from Rio who participated in the exchange programme visits the Art Museum of Rio (Photo: Rio 2016)