The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. 

We create friendly knowledge and understanding between the people of the UK and other countries. 

We do this by making a positive contribution to the UK and the countries we work with – changing lives by creating opportunities, building connections and engendering trust.

We work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. 

Each year we reach over 20 million people face-to-face and more than 500 million people online, via broadcasts and publications. 

Founded in 1934, we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body.

We have been in Brazil since 1945. Currently we have two offices in the country: in São Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro. Every year, we reach out to thousands of students, educators, policymakers, academics, researchers, creatives and entrepreneurs in Brazil.

British Council in the Americas

The British Council has been working to build trust and co-operation between the UK and countries in the Americas since 1940. Today we have 320 people in twelve countries, from Canada in the north to Chile and Argentina in the south.

Our aim is to strengthen cultural relations with the Americas in ways which will enable more people in the UK to learn and benefit from their contacts with the region. 

Policies

As a cultural relations organisation, the British Council has policies that it abides by:

CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

The British Council recognises that we have a fundamental duty of care towards all of the children we engage with including a duty to protect them from abuse. We achieve this through compliance with UK child protection laws and relevant laws in each of the countries we operate in, as well as by adherence to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989.

Read our full policy on child protection.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

The British Council is committed to meeting UK and international standards for managing our environmental impact. We recognise the impact of our business operations and activities on the environment. We also recognise the threat of climate change to prosperity, social justice and quality of life. We are therefore committed to managing and minimising our environmental impact.

Read our full environmental policy in English.

EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. Our work involves developing relationships with people from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. Working effectively with diversity and promoting equality of opportunity is therefore an essential part of our work.

Read our full policy in English to find out how we build equal opportunities and diversity into our programmes and projects.

You can find more information about our policies on the British Council's global website.