The first step towards corporate responsibility was taken at home. The seed that would eventually sprout and give birth to Oi Futuro germinated locally: Unite – Telemar University - was created to train the company’s employees.

Simultaneously, the company’s concern to reduce social exclusion grew, while developing projects and inciting cultural and educational initiatives on their course. Some examples included the Telemar Education Project – renamed as Tonomundo -, and the Telephone Museum, which intensified its actions and became a unique space in Rio de Janeiro even after being temporarily shut down for renovation.

Tonomundo would create the Institute’s current outline through its pioneering goals, which pretended to democratize knowledge through the use of information and communications technologies. Within a year of its creation, UNESCO had already attested the program.

The Institute of Applied Research Economics (Instituto the Pesquisas Econômcias Aplicadas – IPEA) also drew attention to the need for corporate/social responsibility action plans and investments: 53 million people were living under conditions of extreme poverty in Brazil.

Increasing national and international consensus point out that rising misery and poverty can only be seized if all social agents cooperate with this issue, including the State, private companies, NGO’s and citizens. Thus, proved successful by its initial internal actions, Oi and Telemar faced the challenge and created Oi Futuro in December 2001.