Peru Mining Program Wins Award for Education Innovation

Students in Peru's Moquegua region are experiencing a classroom revolution, and the country is taking notice.

The Reimagina Programme won second place at the 2026 ProActivo Awards, a national competition honoring mining and energy sector initiatives that drive sustainable development. The program transforms traditional schools into hubs of creativity and active learning where students develop skills to tackle real challenges in their communities.

What makes Reimagina special isn't just what it teaches, but how everyone works together to make it happen. Anglo American's Quellaveco mine partnered with Peru's Regional Government, local education authorities, UNESCO Peru, and community members to create a shared vision for better education.

The program rests on four core principles that reshape how students learn. Active learning gets kids involved instead of sitting passively. Technological empowerment gives them digital skills for the future. Life planning helps students map their own paths forward. Interactive alternation connects classroom lessons with family life and community needs.

Teachers receive training in new teaching methods. Students gain autonomy and emotional wellbeing support. School leaders learn to run institutions that respond to what their territory actually needs.

This year's ProActivo Awards theme was "Weaving Alliances to Transform Territories," perfectly capturing how Reimagina operates. The program doesn't impose solutions from above. Instead, it mobilizes everyone's capabilities and commitments around what matters most: giving children better educational experiences.

The Ripple Effect

The recognition validates something bigger than one program's success. It proves that sustainable education transformation requires shared responsibility and long-term commitment, not quick fixes imposed by outsiders.

The award energizes everyone involved to keep pushing forward. Education authorities, teachers, families, and partner organizations now have national validation that their collaborative approach works. Other regions can look at Moquegua and see a replicable model for connecting schools with the communities they serve.

When mining companies, governments, international organizations, and local communities align their efforts, children don't just get better test scores—they get learning experiences that prepare them for the real world waiting outside classroom walls.

Moquegua's students are proving that education works best when it belongs to everyone.