Socially Engaged

Paulo Coelho and Christina Oiticica began their social projects in 1996 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when they founded the Paulo Coelho Institute, a non-profit organization financed by his royalties. Their first philanthropic act was in the Pavão-Pavãozinho and  Cantagalo communities in the southern zone of Rio de Janeiro, where they started by helping 80 children through the school Solar Escola Meninos de Luz. The goal is to offer opportunity to children in need, through comprehensive education, culture, sports, professional training support, basic healthcare, and social assistance for vulnerable families from high-risk environments in these communities. Today, the project supports over 480 children a year from the ages of three months to college.

In 2018, they established the Paulo Coelho and Christina Oiticica Philanthropic Foundation, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

The foundation holds around 80,000 documents, including photographs, awards, the complete works of Paulo Coelho, a multitude of objects related to the author’s life and permanent exhibitions of Christina Oiticica’s artistic works.

In Brazil, the foundation participates in several other social projects, such as:
• GACC – Group for Supporting Children with Cancer, in Itabuna, Bahia
• Santa Dulce Social Works Association – Salvador, Bahia
• Nhá Chica Beneficent Association – Baependi, Minas Gerais

And in Switzerland, they collaborate with:
• Caritas
• REPR Relais Enfants Parents Romands
• Doctors Without Borders
• Oxytocinas