The third edition of the Turma da Blue competition determined the winners of Angola's largest Portuguese language school competition last Saturday. The grand final, held at the Cine Tivoli in Luanda, saw the student duo from IMIL – Makarenko school crowned as the grand champions, taking home scholarships or courses worth 1 million kwanzas, school kits, and other prizes. The 2024 edition of Turma da Blue – Prova que Sabes was the largest ever, with the participation of 230 high school and secondary school students. Since 2022, more than 1,000 students have participated in the competition.
Luanda, June 11, 2024 – With an outstanding performance, Marduché Xilo and Hamilton Simão were the winning duo of the 3rd edition of Turma da Blue – Prova que Sabes. The 11th-grade students from the Informatics course at the Instituto Médio Industrial de Luanda (IMIL – Makarenko) stood out in the final on Saturday at the Cine Tivoli for their knowledge of Portuguese grammar and writing rules. This competition was developed and implemented by the Blue brand of Refriango.
The victory of these 18-year-old students earned them several individual prizes: a scholarship or course worth 1 million kwanzas to invest in their education, a computer, a tablet, a merchandising kit, a trophy, a certificate of achievement, as well as products from Blue and Refriango.
With the trophy in hand, Marduché Xilo was ecstatic. “I feel very honored! This victory is the result of a lot of resilience, consistency, perseverance, and great support from my family and teachers,” he commented.
Hamilton Simão also highlighted the “effort” during the preparation “for this competition, less than a week before the school exams.” “It’s a sign that we can achieve our goals whenever we set our minds to it,” he reflected.
Proud, Professor Cláudio Neves, representative of IMIL – Makarenko, testified to “the many days of hard work and specific preparation for Turma da Blue” that “challenged both students and teachers, pushing them to continually improve.”
Since the first edition in 2022, 1,152 students from dozens of high and secondary schools in Luanda have participated in Turma da Blue – Prova que Sabes. In response to the growing number of students and schools interested in taking part, this year the competition expanded and strongly embraced the digital world. In addition to the 10 participating schools, five public and five private, 46 students from high school registered through Instagram and Facebook, forming 23 duos. One of the new requirements was that participants needed to have an average grade higher than 13 points.
The competing schools this year were: Colégio Aurora Internacional, IMIL – Makarenko, Colégio São Benedito, Liceu João Beirão, Instituto Médio de Economia de Luanda (IMEL), PUNIV Cazenga, Colégio Padre Martins Ferreira, Colégio Betânia, Colégio Alpega, and the Instituto de Técnicos de Saúde de Luanda (ITSL).
To reach the grand final, a total of 230 students aged 15 to 18 went through a pre-selection and elimination process, including a digital round (another new feature of this edition), which helped determine the two finalist duos.
At the end of the event, Blue Brand Manager Lúcia Nóbrega was “impressed” by the competitors' performance. “Our young people are amazing! This is the largest Turma da Blue competition ever, and that speaks volumes about our students' desire to keep learning and constantly surpassing themselves. This project is a living proof that with determination and the right support, we can transform the future of our communities, and that future is in good hands with the new generations. The contagious energy we see today is exactly the kind of energy Blue has been bringing to Angolans every day for more than 18 years. A youthful energy that transforms and always finds new ways to assert itself and make a difference, where knowledge is lived with joy, fun, and lots and lots of energy!”
Also caught up in the joy of the hundreds of young people who attended the final at Cine Tivoli, Tânia Jardim, Marketing Director at Refriango, highlighted “the realization of another great celebration of knowledge, promoting inclusion, learning, and literacy.” “It is always an enormous emotion to see how Turma da Blue goes far beyond the competition itself. Through this initiative, we are not only encouraging mastery of the Portuguese language but also creating real opportunities for personal growth for the students. On the other hand, this project involves the entire school community and families, emphasizing the paramount value of education as a key driver for our present and future. Fighting illiteracy is a goal for Angola as a country, for Angolans as citizens, and for Refriango and Blue as socially responsible companies and brands committed to the goals of the Action Plan for the Intensification of Literacy and Education for Young People and Adults or the National Reading Plan.”
The grand celebration of the competition's final featured performances by Os Reflexos, FourShow, and Biu Bau, and was presented by the duo Josemara Mateus and Chris Breyner, influencers closely linked to the project. Josemara Mateus was even behind the creation of Turma da Blue – Prova que Sabes in 2022. At that time, the Commercial Management and Marketing student was spontaneously creating content for social media on how to speak Portuguese correctly, which inspired the Blue competition. Today, she continues to create “Dicas de Português” (Portuguese Tips) for the brand’s page. On the other hand, Chris Breyner was the grand winner of the Bluetuber competition, held in 2020/2021, which sought the best YouTuber in Angola. At 22 years old, the Business Management student is now responsible for creating content for the Blue brand.
