Launched approximately six years ago, the program to disseminate plain language at Unicamp has just entered its second phase with a positive assessment, according to the program's technical coordinator, Thiago Pinheiro. According to Pinheiro, the program is mature and currently has 22 projects under development at the University. Of these, 19 are being carried out within the university units and three in partnership with external participants – the University of São Paulo (USP), the Regional Labor Court (TRT) of the 15th Region, and the Municipality of Campinas. Pinheiro also revealed that negotiations are underway to formalize agreements with the Federal Court of Accounts, the Comptroller General of the Union, and the National Council of Justice. The course has already trained 700 people at the University.
The assessment was made on Wednesday afternoon (4) during a meeting at the Unicamp Corporate Education School (Educorp), where the program's technical coordination brought together multipliers in simple language to evaluate progress and discuss projects under development.
Pinheiro said that the first phase focused on technical conceptualization. Now, in the second phase, the so-called "transformative projects" will be presented, which have earned this name because, according to him, simple language has been used not only as a communication technique, but as a "tool for process improvement".
The technical coordinator highlighted two projects. One of them, from the Academic Directorate (DAC), involved a comprehensive review of all types of communication sent to students. “All this material is being reviewed. The goal is to better organize and structure the documents, in order to expand and improve access to services,” says Pinheiro.
The other project is under development at the General Directorate of Administration (DGA). "We are producing a guide and a course for the procurement process, which involves documents such as the Terms of Reference or Preliminary Technical Study (ETP). All of this is being translated into simple language," he says.
Pinheiro assures that, even with the transformation of language, it is possible to guarantee the technical rigor required by bureaucracy and legislation.
“Simple language doesn’t compete with technical language. What is perhaps the main difference with technical language? It’s written with the target audience in mind. There is language for the academic audience, but often it needs to be adapted to an audience that has more difficulty,” he reflects.
“In projects carried out outside of Unicamp, such as the one for TRT 15, we don't modify the content of the technical document, but we create a version for the party involved so that they understand what is happening,” he explains.
The ceremony marked the beginning of the second phase.
The rector of Unicamp, Paulo Cesar Montagner – who was present at the ceremony marking the beginning of the second phase of the program – said that the idea of using simple language is gaining traction both inside and outside the University. “Unicamp's contribution to this process is becoming very important. Furthermore, there is a relevant aspect of inclusion in this entire process,” the rector noted.
According to the general coordinator of Unicamp, Fernando Coelho – who was also present at the ceremony – the program not only creates a change in the way communication is produced, but also provokes changes in protocol at the University. “Simple language is extremely important, as it allows for greater interaction with the community and, therefore, transforms into a movement of citizenship,” he assesses.
Edison Lins, the executive coordinator of Educorp, said that the program "helps bring citizens closer to their rights."
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