The Florestan Fernandes National School (ENFF as the acronym in Portuguese), inaugurated in 2005 by Brazil’s Rural Landless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra – MST), is a center for political and educational training built collectively by its members. It embodies principles of social justice, collective organization, and education as a transformative practice. The MST itself is a mass social movement formed by rural workers and all those committed to land reform and to the struggle against injustice and social inequality in rural areas.
MST congregates 185 cooperatives and 400 thousand families, who operate in food supply chains of a diversity of products, such as dairy, fruits, cocoa, corn, bean, rice, nuts, condiments, honey, eggs and many others. The ENFF hosts courses in partnership with Brazilian universities and international institutions, offering programs in areas such as social sciences, education, agrarian studies, and political economy with the aim of creating a unique space for dialogue between academia and activism.
During the SCORAI conference visit, participants will explore the school’s facilities, including its library and cultural spaces, and learn about its educational approach that integrates theory and practice (https://mst.org.br/2020/01/24/conheca-a-escola-nacional-florestan-fernandes-ha-15-anos-formando-militantes/).