Gisleia Blank

@gisleia_simone

 

Locally and globally

 

“Although living in the interior of São Lourenço do Sul, I work as an IT support technician for a multinational company and every day I serve customers from Germany. My trajectory towards my professional international services is based on the formal study at school and university, and by holding in high esteem our countryside culture, especially the languages our ancestors spoke: Pomeranian and German. Initially, I was a German teacher, and as time went by, I added my job to the information technology area in niches where there was need for communication in German. I perceive that local knowledge and culture are highly valued in the Entrepreneurship and Rural Management course offered by the Growing-Up Right Institute, which a nephew of mine is attending as rural apprentice.

The way they stimulate the different personal development fronts of the young apprentices is very positive, like visits to museums and research institutions, with the focus not only on social culture but on rural culture, too. Knowledge is what keeps young people aware of the fact that there are chances good enough for them to stay in the rural area. There are multiple opportunities for success without leaving the rural environment. For a long time, the farmers themselves used to ‘wear the mantle of inferiority”, stereotype of a countryside person. It had to be changed.

Now, with joy I see people attending courses, studying and starting enterprises in the interior, from their own production to rural tourism and services. Small rural businesses are now valued, even by the farmers themselves, who have come to grips with the situation, shedding the myth that the ‘countryside’ offers no opportunities. I think that every type of qualification is important and there are qualifications that can be acquired without a college course. Examples include drone management and other technologies, efficient cultivation techniques and aptitudes that improve the farm and its surroundings. Young people who are able to look beyond the normal things, with an education geared toward culture and history, by using this knowledge will have something that could improve the place where they live, not in the sense of ascension, but quality.”

 

Gisleia Blank,lives in the interior of São Lourenço do Sul (RS), is an IT technician and serves customers from Germany. She is filled with enthusiasm when it comes to the Growing Up Right Institute, as it is an institution that encourages young people to spot opportunities in the countryside