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Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience the construction industry has employed a high number of men construction sites and senior leadership positions As part of its 2030 Sustainability Commitments a building materials and sustainable solutions company set the goal of having 25% of leadership positions globally occupied by women the company came very close to this target ending the year with 24.8% of leadership positions in global operations occupied by women—an increase of more than four percentage points since 2020 “Votorantim Cimentos’ organisational culture is our guide as we work to create an increasingly diverse and inclusive work environment Diversity and Inclusion is part of our people management strategy It is a matter of competitiveness and also essential to drive innovation and the growth of our business To strengthen this essential pillar of our culture development and retention programmes,” said Cinthia Bossi global director of People and Management at Votorantim Cimentos Inclusion journey – In addition to the targets related to leadership positions Votorantim Cimentos also seeks to increase the percentage of women in operational positions at all levels Votorantim Cimentos hired more than 100 women to work in its operations in Brazil 15% of Votorantim Cimento' operational workforce is made up of women Votorantim Cimentos invests in programmes to train and attract women “Diversity and Inclusion is a journey an ongoing process that must include different approaches from providing technical training to offer women new opportunities in the job market to increasing the presence of women in all types of positions we seek to create inclusive work environments that can help the company remain attractive and modern to retain the best talent in addition to offering internal development programs,” said Cinthia Bossi One of Votorantim Cimentos’ initiatives to accelerate women’s inclusion and promotion to leadership positions is the Technical Training Path for Women a development program for women working in the company’s operations in Brazil to technical and leadership levels in the areas of Maintenance More than 100 employees are currently being trained as part of the first cycle of the programme Votorantim Cimentos also launched a knowledge path to develop female individual contributors called Initiative and Self-Development: Women Building Paths which included the participation of 860 women throughout the year focuses on the development of female leaders More than 250 women have already participated in the program which covers different topics from the perspective of gender and inclusion strategic leadership and professional image are also examples of diversity and inclusion efforts Votorantim Cimentos’ 2025 Trainee Programme has been focusing on corporate areas Six of the seven participants in the new class that started in January are women The 2024 Industrial Trainee Program recruited young adults working in engineering to develop their career in Votorantim Cementos' site There are currently eight trainees participating in the programme Another Votorantim Cimentos initiative is the Evoluir Programme which offers free professional training to employees and residents in the locations where the company operates in Brazil expanding the participants’ opportunities in the job market and reinforcing the commitment to building a positive legacy for society The technical courses are held in partnership with technical professional training entities such as the Brazilian National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI) and the Brazilian Transportation Social Service and National Transportation Apprenticeship Service (SEST/SENAT) the programme had 230 openings for a total of 17 classes in the areas of Mechanical Maintenance with 155 openings reserved especially to women some programs also provide technical and professional training to employees Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/26022025/votorantim-cimentos-increases-number-of-women-in-its-operations/ In the latest episode of the World Cement Podcast Senior Editor David Bizley is joined by Dr Andrew Minson of the GCCA to discuss the ins and outs of the recently launched Low Carbon Ratings (LCR) system Listen for free today » Backed by Clean Energy Ventures and Buzzi Unicem USA Queens Carbon will leverage funding to scale its energy-efficient cement production platform Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below): This article has been tagged under the following: Already a member? Sign in here Listen to the latest episode of the World Cement Podcast Listen now! ABB Ability™ Expert Optimizer for cement increases process stability and reduces energy costs Imagine you worrying less about ore grade variation impacting your process stability and associated energy consumption. The team at Votorantim Cimentos in Brazil is already living this reality thanks to ABB Ability™ Expert Optimizer for cement Reduction in consumption of grinding media in ball mill alternative fuel management and material blending Use real-time data to enable constant monitoring and analysis of process and assets The heavy rains that hit Rio Grande do Sul in April and May in particular left 180 dead and more than 800 injured (photo: Gustavo Mansur/Palácio Piratini) State coordination will be essential to overcome the problems in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul Brazil has had a national public policy for disaster risk management the National Policy for Civil Protection and Defense (PNPDEC) which provides for the intergovernmental development of a set of actions for prevention and recovery after socio-environmental disasters the operationalization of this policy faces numerous challenges and less effective responses to tragedies such as the one that occurred in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (southern region of the country) as well as not helping in the design of good planning to support preventive actions and Human Sciences (FFLCH-USP) and the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP) also signed by André Luis Nogueira da Silva of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) discusses the different patterns of state coordination in the implementation of public policies The study examines three cases: coordination in education policy in the state of Ceará and civil protection and defense policy in the state of Acre These are policies with different degrees of federal coordination and state coordination patterns Reflections on Acre’s civil protection and defense policy offer a number of lessons not only for the case of Rio Grande do Sul This area of public policy was selected for the study because it is a sector with little effective national coordination and different trajectories of state coordination the issue gained relevance in a specific context – in this case the historic floods of the 2010s in the capital the researchers first analyzed national coordination at the federal level before discussing aspects related to the state level “In the case of civil protection and defense we found that national coordination is very much in its infancy There’s an attempt to move forward with the creation of a national policy but there are no financial incentives or instruments to ensure the building of state capacities and the implementation of specific policies,” Segatto points out nor only in the civil protection and defense policy there is no clarity about the role of the state in coordinating policies and actions with the municipalities and this is not exclusive to this [public] policy The lack of clarity about the role of the states in regional coordination occurs in public policies in various areas,” says Segatto Lima-Silva recalls that the most recent framework which defines the responsibilities of the state and municipalities in the area of civil protection and defense in which there are few elements to guide behavior who ends up doing what in each context varies greatly from case to case,” she points out there is room for one actor to blame the other if something is not done as was observed in the case of Rio Grande do Sul Acre became interesting as an object of study because of the emergency situation of the floods of 2012 and 2015 in which the state took on a leading role that it had not exercised before especially when it began to develop joint actions between the Civil Defense and the State Environmental Department based on data and inter-institutional coordination to create new patterns of state coordination and planning of actions to deal with risks sharing them with different state and non-state actors to anticipate scenarios and better plan what can be done in each of them,” she adds One example is the system for monitoring the level of the Acre River it is possible to know how much the river level will rise in Rio Branco and which areas of the city will be flooded estimates can be made that allow the state and municipal governments to take practical measures in advance deploying firefighters and civil defense teams warning schools and residents of the neighborhoods that will be affected The production of data alone is not enough: technicians and political actors must be able to look at this information data circulated and could’ve been used more effectively in decision-making during the rains We also didn’t see significant coordination with civil society something that guarantees capillarity,” adds Lima-Silva In addition to producing data and knowing how to interpret them the work must be coordinated between the different spheres and communication with the population needs to be clear and agile there doesn’t seem to have been clear communication to those who would be most affected by the decisions made in relation to the data produced,” Segatto points out the state coordination observed in Acre seems to have been weakened in the southern state according to Segatto: the attention attracted and the seriousness of the events led to uncooperative federal coordination between the three spheres that could have provided faster and more effective responses this will not be the last occurrence of climatic extremes in Rio Grande do Sul “We must not only think about investments to respond to the effects of the tragedy but also take advantage of this crisis to work on the construction and coordination of policies and between levels of government so that at least we have less impactful effects in future crises,” she concludes The article “Different patterns of state coordination; the explanatory factors of coordinating action in Brazilian states” can be read at: www.agendapolitica.ufscar.br/index.php/agendapolitica/article/view/900 Massive floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state killed at least 75 people over the last seven days while damage from the rains forced more than 88,000 people from their homes Residents evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains People evacuate on a surfboard from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains A soldier helps a woman evacuate from a neighborhood flooded by heavy rains RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Massive floods in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state have killed at least 75 people over the last seven days Approximately 16,000 took refuge in schools washed-out roads and collapsed bridges across the state Operators reported electricity and communications cuts More than 800,000 people are without a water supply which cited figures from water company Corsan A rescue team pulled an elderly man in serious medical condition into a helicopter from a remote area in the Bento Gonçalves municipality according to footage from military firefighters Torrents of brown water poured over a nearby dam residents in the town of Canoas stood up to their shoulders in muddy water and formed a human chain to pull boats carrying people to safety according to video footage shared by local UOL news network The Guaiba river reached a record level of 5.33 meters (17.5 feet) on Sunday morning at 8 a.m surpassing levels seen during a historic 1941 deluge “I repeat and insist: the devastation to which we are being subjected is unprecedented,” state Gov He had previously said the state will need a “kind of ‘Marshall Plan’ to be rebuilt.” Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visited Rio Grande do Sul for a second time on Sunday accompanied by Defense Minister José Múcio Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and Environment Minister Marina Silva The leftist leader and his team surveyed the flooded streets of Porto Alegre from a helicopter We need to see in advance what calamities might happen and we need to work,” Lula told journalists afterwards Pope Francis said he was praying for the state’s population “May the Lord welcome the dead and comfort their families and those who had to abandon their homes,” he said The downpour started Monday and was expected to last through Sunday more than 300 millimeters (11.8 inches) of rain fell in less than a week according to Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology The heavy rains were the fourth such environmental disaster in the state in a year September and November 2023 that killed 75 people increasingly worse and more frequent,” said Suely Araújo a public policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory a network of dozens of environmental and social groups Brazil needs to adjust to the effects of climate change referring to a process known as adaptation Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment Officials in Rio Grande do Sul state say more than 80,000 have been displaced by record water levels Seventy-five people are now known to have died in the flooding in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state The state’s civil defence authority said 101 people were unaccounted for and more than 80,000 had been displaced after record-breaking floods swept across the state to discuss rescue and reconstruction works with local authorities Rescue workers are continuing to race against the clock to save people from raging floods and mudslides Using four-wheel-drive vehicles and at times jetskis rescuers made their way through waist-deep water searching for those who had been left stranded by the rising waters Video posted online by Lula appeared to show a helicopter dropping a soldier on the roof of a house and the soldier using a brick to pound a hole in the roof and rescue a baby wrapped in a blanket Flooding in the centre of Porto Alegre Rio Grande do Sul state after people were evacuated on 5 May Photograph: Renan Mattos/ReutersStorms have affected almost two-thirds of the state’s 497 cities destroyed roads and collapsed bridges as well as power outages and water cuts More than a million people lacked access to drinking water according to Brazil’s civil defence agency On Thursday a dam at a hydroelectric plant between the cities of Bento Gonçalves and Cotiporã partly collapsed while entire cities in the Taquari River valley Helicopters flew continually over the cities as stranded families with children awaited rescue on the rooftops “People were making barricades in front of hospitals with sand and gravel.” Last week Lula described the floods as being among the largest Brazil had ever seen. “Never before in the history of Brazil had there been such a quantity of rain in one single location,” he told reporters. 0:49Aerial footage shows scale of flooding in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul – videoThe flooding across the state has surpassed that seen during a deluge in 1941 according to the Brazilian Geological Service water levels were at their highest since record-keeping began almost 150 years ago Aerial images showed residential areas in Porto Alegre that were underwater as far as the eye could see with the tops of some houses barely visible Canoas Photograph: Amanda Perobelli/ReutersAcross the city while others in canoes or small boats navigated streets that have turned into rivers Porto Alegre’s international airport on Friday suspended all flights for an indefinite period Rains were expected to continue in the northern and north-eastern regions of the state but the volume of precipitation has been declining and should remain below the levels seen in recent days according to the state meteorology authority Earlier in the week in some areas as much as 150mm (6in) of rainfell within 24 hours “River water levels should stay high for some days,” the state governor adding that it was difficult to determine exactly how long the situation would continue Earlier in the week Leite had described the floods as a “critical moment” for the state “The current event will be the worst climate disaster that our state ever faced,” he wrote on social media on Wednesday The state of Rio Grande do Sul sits at a geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres giving rise to a weather pattern that includes periods of intense rain and drought Local scientists say the pattern has been intensifying as a result of the human-made climate crisis In September, Rio Grande do Sul was hit by an extratropical cyclone leading to flooding that killed more than 50 people The cyclone came after more than two years of persistent drought during which the region had only scarce showers This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page VINCI Airports has finalised the modernisation of seven airports in Northern Brazil marking the improvements with a ceremony at Porto Velho Airport on 28 November Present at the ceremony was the Minister of Ports and Airports of Brazil Silvio Costa Filho The upgrades were initiated by VINCI to increase connectivity and passenger traffic with 11 new destinations now available across the airports helping to strength connections between the Amazon and the rest of Brazil The airports to receive the accumulative BRL 1.4 billion investment were: Manaus “We have concluded this important phase with the commitment to transform these airports into safer more efficient and more comfortable environments meeting the growing demand of passengers,” said VINCI Airports CEO in Brazil “We will continue to invest and work to attract new flights boosting local economic development and strengthening the Amazon’s connection with the rest of the country and the world.” Manaus Airport is the main airport in the region with its improvements being made based on increasing operational capacity and boosting passenger experience The additions included renovated departure and arrival lounges A sustainability Complex including a power substation and effluent treatment system was also created The modernization of Tefé and Tabatinga airports focused on sustainability and safety with the installation of solar-powered nighttime lighting using autonomous LED lights renovations to the boarding and disembarking areas Cruzeiro do Sul Airport received upgrades to its terminal and runway infrastructure to improve accessibility and security and more comfortable boarding and disembarking areas The terminal at Rio Branco Airport was rendered more functional with infrastructure An expansion project at Boa Vista Airport to accommodate growing passenger traffic has been underway since April 2023 and concluded in October of this year The new area is double the previous size at 375 square metres including facilities for families and people with disabilities 12 new check-in counters with automated belts and inspection areas for agencies such as Anvisa and Vigiargro Porto Velho International Airport’s operational capacity has been significantly increased with an expanded terminal and new refrigeration and accessibility systems Elevators and escalators were also installed to aid passengers with reduced mobility and improve safe access for all passengers these finished works will greatly assist in boosting the local economy and providing safe comfortable and accessible venues for passengers as well as more easily operated and larger capacity facilities for airlines and website in this browser for the next time I comment a primeira newsletter estará na sua caixa de correio em breve Subscreva a nossa newsletter para receber as novidades e o melhor da sua cidade Ao inserir o seu email concorda com os nossos Termos de Utilização e Política de Privacidade tal como concorda em receber emails da Time Out com notícias Subscreva a nossa newsletter para aproveitar o melhor da cidade Ao inserir o seu email 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Rio de Janeiro preparados com maestria por uma série de chefs (muitos deles oriundos da própria Itália) A cidade guarda uma rota de excelentes cozinhas italianas seja um requintado estabelecimento dentro do icônico Copacabana Palace ou uma simpática casa em São Cristóvão receitas da "nonna" esquentando no fogão e o desejo por um autêntico tiramisù: hora de conhecer os melhores restaurantes italianos no Rio de Janeiro que se aventuram na gastronomia de norte a sul do país em formato de bota.  Recomendado: Os melhores restaurantes vegetarianos no Rio de Janeiro Obrigado por subscrever! Esteja atento, a primeira newsletter estará na sua caixa de correio em breve! AUE/DivulgaçãoCom massas feitas à mão ravioles recheados no momento do pedido e pães assados a cada 10 minutos os pratos servidos neste italiano estão sempre o mais fresquinhos possíveis tudo é feito no casarão com paredes de tijolinhos e decorado com peças de antiquário Clima perfeito para um bate-papo mais íntimo Batizado em homenagem à matriarca da família Aleixo um dos melhores restaurantes românticos do Rio traz como destaques do cardápio o Bavettine negro com camarões e lagotinis ao molho cremoso de prosecco (R$68,50) e o Cherne em crosta de amêndoas (R$85,90) Feche a noite dividindo um Profiteroles (R$36,50) que vem com sorvete de creme e calda de chocolate e avelãs o pagamento é apenas em dinheiro ou cheque.  Sobre nós Manuela D'Ávila in Porto Alegre and Guilherme Boulos in São Paulo proceed to the 2nd round run off on November 29th - Screen capture/Brasil de Fato/Facebook The 2020 municipal elections will be marked by the strengthening of left-wing parties among the 100 largest cities in the country and the failure of most candidates identified with the ultra-right or supported by President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party) the traditional right has gained ground and will likely maintain electoral hegemony in several state capitals the election was decided in the 1st round with victories for the right and center-right: Belo Horizonte (state of Minas Gerais) the Bahia state capital, and Campo Grande (state of Mato Grosso do Sul) were the only state capitals where Bolsonarism advanced to the 2nd round city councilor candidate Carlos Bolsonaro (Republicans) obtained fewer votes than the left winger Tarcisio Motta from the Freedom and Socialism Party (PSOL) – both were elected In the progressive field, one of the biggest surprises in the last month of campaigning was the rise of Guilherme Boulos (PSOL) in São Paulo (state of São Paulo) The leader of the Movement of Homeless Workers (MTST) advanced to the 2nd round with 20.3% of the votes and will face current mayor Bruno Covas on 29 November political scientist and professor at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC) the numbers may signal a new moment for the Brazilian left "São Paulo demonstrates that the left is alive and is going through a period of repositioning in which the Workers’ Party (PT) is no longer necessarily its centerpiece this repositioning presupposes a broader understanding of the role played by the other political camps “The elections show that it is necessary to think about how the left can cope with the center-right which gradually replaces Bolsonarism in the electoral scenario having economic power at its disposal.” who “will not face a comfortable situation in the second round as the polls signaled” "The left has the capacity to mobilize and a lot of electoral strength but the moment demands different characteristics from what we had until the 'tsunami' of anti Workers' Party (PT) sentiments” PT and PSOL have gained ground and have a chance of winning at least 12 of them the two parties are not heading the Executive branch of any of the municipalities on the list Recife (Pernanbuco state) will be the only capital with a run off between two progressive candidates: cousins ​​João Campos (PSB) and Marília Arraes (PT) Manuela D’Ávila of the Communist Party (PCdoB) advanced to the second round against Sebastião Melo (MDB) a journalist from Brasil de Fato in Rio Grande do Sul the result expresses voters’ “fatigue” with Bolsonarism and the liberal right “Porto Alegre has a history of political construction And the population showed at the polls that they want to rescue how we lived during that period and that things have stifled for some time” Marko points out that the left will also be present in the second round in other important cities in the state with Pepe Vargas from the Workers' Party (PT) "The population is seeing what Bolsonarism is doing to the country and without a structured network of hate like the one we saw in the 2018 elections it became easier to showcase the proposals from the progressive field" Of the 44 candidates who will compete in the 2nd round in the capitals, 15 are black and only five are women Among the women will be Cinthia Ribeiro (PSDB) the only one going to the run off leading the election in her municipality According to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) women are 52.49% of the electorate in the country only one woman was elected to the mayor’s office of a Brazilian capital: Teresa Surita (MDB) The two indigenous people who ran for mayor in state capitals the Paraná state capital of Curitiba made history by electing its first black councilwoman All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced provided it is not altered and proper credit is given All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced