Originated from the popular education, Ação Educativa made its history by linking education with culture and recognizing young people as individuals with rights.
Ação Educativa was developed out of the Ecumenical Center for Documentation and Information (Centro Ecumênico de Documentação e Informação – CEDI), an organization that took part, in the 1970s and 1980s, in the struggle for the redemocratization of the country, supporting the organization of popular movements. In the 1980s, CEDI assembled a team of volunteers that produced a literacy primer for rubber tappers in the Brazilian state of Acre. Many other popular education actions have followed, and the struggle for public education, especially for young people and adults, has gained space on the agenda. When CEDI ended its activities in 1994, the education team broadened its circle and founded Ação Educativa, adding to its areas of interest that of the Youth. Young people, in turn, have imposed culture as a central dimension of our action.