To prepare low-income youth to be admitted into higher education institutions. This is the goal of the project Leres e Saberes that Fundação Getulio Vargas has been carrying out for 12 years with community students attending university preparation courses in Rio de Janeiro.  Taught for free on Saturdays, the program offers Portuguese and Mathematics classes for 50 students selected from community university preparation courses and public schools. The course included initially the enhancement of academic content through discussions of exercise lists and texts, but the evolution of the practices has led to the observation of the need to address two fronts: the submission of the participant in college/university and its permanence in it, says the Mathematics professor and coordinator of the course, Ledo Vaccaro.  In addition to theoretical lessons, class exercises and the solutions to questions in FGV, UERJ and Enem entrance exams, the classes also offer movie exhibitions, readings of literary and philosophical works, as well as visits to cultural centers, museums and lectures by FGV undergraduate students who report their experiences and expectations. The students participating in the project not only prepare themselves for the college entrance exams. They experience a cultural immersion, a flow of information and culture that would be impossible if it were not for the opportunity presented by FGV. The contact with FGV's excellence increases their knowledge, self-confidence and desire to learn, says Vaccaro.  Six students of Leres e Saberes were admitted to FGV. Among them, the lawyer Dione Valesca, who was admitted to FGV's Rio de Janeiro Law School in 2004 and currently attends a master's degree at the same School, where she is a tutor in Criminal Law.  FGV is not an institution only concerned with the outstanding education of those who have access to it, but has a great concern for the idea of humanity, of sharing knowledge, states Dione in a testimonial to the hotsite FGV - One History, Many Lives, released yesterday, August 12.  Besides those who joined FGV, 14 others passed in other institutions of higher education in the city.  This year, the students came from community preparation courses Santo Amaro and Canaã, and institutions such as the State Technical School Bangu, State College Olavo Bilac and State School Leopoldina da Silveira.  The project Leres e Saberes 2013 began on March 2 and will continue until December 14. The Mathematics course is held in the morning. In the afternoon, professor Marlene de Araújo teaches Portuguese.  Information about the class of 2014 will be available next year.  Click here and learn how studying at FGV has changed Dione Valesca's life (in Portuguese)