By: Roberta Coelho Marketing and Communications Manager EABH – The American School of Belo Horizonte Brazil @eabh
A moment to capture, celebrate, and value the school’s history. To celebrate its history, throughout the 2016/2017 school year EABH – The American School of Belo Horizonte – has carried out a series of events that will be remembered for years to come. The project kicked off with the design of the new visual logo, accompanied by the slogan “EABH Connection – 60 Years”. The concept and the graphic design were created by the Marketing Department, composed of Roberta Coelho and Rodolpho Araujo, and the School Director, Catarina Song Chen. They represent a solid foundation, commitment to legacy, and spirit of community unity. “For 60 years, the American School of Belo Horizonte has been writing its story with the cooperation and involvement of the entire community. Parents, students, teachers, and partners have contributed through their active engagement, enthusiasm, and desire to build a collective, expansive endeavor generating lasting results around the world” said Catarina Song Chen. The design of the logo with the number 60 highlighted the traits of connection, movement, and engagement, adding the glamour of gold to the black, blue, and white colors already present in the school logo.
In addition to the commemorative brand, the institution determined that all school events held during this school year would be related to the 60th anniversary. In addition, special events would be created for the celebration. The most important event was a sophisticated gala dinner held at Cine Theatro Brasil, a historical building in downtown Belo Horizonte. This important milestone was celebrated with EABH families, staff, alumni, and honored guests from various segments of the industry and the community, both public and private sectors. The evening also showcased a photography exhibition of the colorful moments and memorable faces of our school, with details about the history and individuals that left their mark on the American School of Belo Horizonte and the world. The exhibition culminated with students’ artwork, showing school logos from the past, as well as their take on the commemorative logo. The school is currently negotiating with an important local museum to host this exhibition and showcase the prominent history of the school to the entire community of Belo Horizonte.
In order to support the festivities, the school started a fundraising campaign. Everyone was invited to participate and to take part in history. The project was very successful and EABH was able to get support from alumni, parents’ businesses, and external companies. After all expenses have been accounted for, the institution ended up with a positive balance that will be applied toward a seed fund as their first-ever- endowment. On the day after the gala, teachers, parents, and students traveled to a paradise island in Bahia, Brasil – Ilha de Comandatuba – to celebrate Thanksgiving with many members of our school family. This was possible, because of the contribution of one of the community members who planned the whole trip, full of perks and fun moments.
EABH also took the opportunity to launch its new website. The institution has already been investing in social media, by posting news, photos and videos. But the new digital platform offers a more dynamic interface, with modern and easy to use features. It allows visitors to get comprehensive information about the school and to check the latest news related to EABH. But this is not all! To honor its history, the school is working with historians to investigate the past so that the community can learn about how the school started. Thanks to Lei Rouanet (a Brazilian law that encourages cultural investments and helps finance cultural projects by allowing a certain percentage of the investment to be tax deductible) the school’s ambition to publish a book about the history of Buritis, featuring EABH as a key player in the story, was successfully approved by the Brazilian Ministry of Culture. The publication will have photos that are part of the precious collection of the school and is planned to be launched in June 2017.
Overall, this has been a great year for the school. All the efforts brought media attention: newspapers, magazines, and blogs published highlights of the events and contributed to increase school awareness and augment the school’s reputation.