A new space for preserving history
The Odebrecht Culture Center opens in Salvador Oderecht Culture Center
written by ◦ Karolina Gutiez photos by ◦ Holanda Cavalcanti

“The Odebrecht Culture Center is a tribute to everyone who has transformed the commitment to serving others into results, thereby helping keep the Odebrecht Group on the path of Survival, Growth and Perpetuity.” These are the words inscribed on the plaque unveiled by Norberto Odebrecht and Regina Odebrecht, the wife of Emílio Odebrecht, Chairman of the Board of Odebrecht S.A., during the dedication ceremony held on November 25 at Odebrecht’s Salvador headquarters as part of the organization’s 60th-anniversary celebrations.

Designed to combine Philosophy, People and Entrepreneurial History in order to transmit the Group’s Culture in a dynamic way, the new Culture Center is replacing the former Memory Center.

By recounting events that occurred over the years in light of this dynamic combination of principles and philosophical concepts with historic milestones, the Center enables visitors to identify in people’s actions and achievements the values and beliefs that have always guided Odebrecht’s trajectory on the path of Survival, Growth and Perpetuity.

By presenting the achievements, accomplishments and learnings of the past, the overarching aim of the Culture Center is to serve as an engine driving the achievements, accomplishments and learnings of the future by symbolizing communication between the generations of entrepreneurs who make up the Group.

The communication the Center fosters among the three generations working closely together in the organization reflects the spirit, thinking and actions of the Group’s founder, Norberto Odebrecht, and his partners, construction supervisors and craftsmen, who co-founded the organization following events that took place in the 1940s; the antecedents that helped the company achieve its objectives and further developments; and the contributions of entrepreneur-partners from the first, second and third generations who played a leading role in the events and decisions that have made the Group what it is today and laid the foundations – both tangible and intangible – for the next generations to forge ahead into the future.

“Thus, the Center aims to become a space that sums up the history of people and the challenges and crises they have faced, their achievements, learnings and accomplishments, which are guided by a cultural touchstone shared by people who speak the same language and have the same philosophical concepts,” says Norberto Odebrecht.

During the opening ceremony, Norberto Odebrecht received a tribute from his grandson Marcelo Odebrecht, Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO) of Construtora Norberto Odebrecht. Representing the Third Generation of entrepreneur-partners, Marcelo stressed that many of today’s young entrepreneurs will be qualified to take the helm of the Group’s businesses in the future. “Some of them will be even more competent than you, sir, but that will only be possible because they are already following the path you set,” he observed. Marcelo gave his grandfather a poster with a photograph of young entrepreneurs working at Bento Pedroso Construções in Portugal, with the following message to Norberto Odebrecht underneath: “Leave it to us, sir, we’ve got the next 60 years covered.”

The original Odebrecht Memory Center, which is now being replaced by the Culture Center, was created in 1984. Renato Martins, the officer responsible for New Opportunities Development at Odebrecht S.A. and the last member of the first generation still active in the company, explained how the center was born from necessity back then, as a storehouse for the memory of past achievements, actions and events and learnings, and became a tool for helping educate the next generations while encouraging them to achieve ever-better results in the future.

The Culture Center is a permanent exhibition containing photographs, medals, trophies, videos, documents and other elements that are part of the history of the organization, arranged in order to tell the Group’s story (see box). Renato Martins recalls, “In the early 80s, we began collecting records of our entrepreneurial actions that represented the documentation of the work of all Odebrecht members and testimonials from Clients and Communities that Odebrecht has served and satisfied.” These and other items make up the collection of the Odebrecht Culture Center.

During the dedication ceremony, Renato Martins presented Norberto Odebrecht with a facsimile of a catalogue published in 1949 and 1950 to showcase the projects built by what was then called Norberto Odebrecht Construtora Ltda. Produced by the late artist Carybé, the catalogue presents all the projects the Group’s founder directed at the beginning of his career.

The ceremony was attended by Group shareholders, board members and senior advisors, members of the President and CEO of Odebrecht S.A.’s team, the Entrepreneurial Leaders (CEOs) of the Group’s subsidiaries, and members of CNO, Braskem, OCS (the Group’s captive insurance company), Odeprev (Odebrecht’s pension fund), and the Odebrecht Foundation.