The population of Pelotas, in Rio Grande do Sul, now has expanded access to educational, cultural and public interest content. The UFPel TV transmission station was inaugurated last Tuesday (9). The initiative is the result of a partnership between Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) and the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) and was implemented with resources from the federal government.  The ceremony was attended by EBC's Regional Projects and Content manager, Adriano de Angelis; the rector of UFPel, Ursula Rosa da Silva; the Pro Dean of Extension, Fábio Garcia Lima; the Communication Secretary of Pelotas City Hall, Tony Sechi; the Director of TV UFPel, Marislei Ribeiro; and the director of Rádio Federal FM, Michael Kerr. Related news: Management highlights EBC's role in implementing the new Digital TV. "When a new public broadcaster goes on air in a free and accessible way, we don't just expand a TV signal. We strengthen democracy, expand access to knowledge and create new opportunities for the culture, stories and identities of a territory to be seen and recognized by the population. TV UFPel advances as a bridge between the university and society, transforming knowledge into dialogue and strengthening citizenship in the region", highlighted Adriano de Angelis, Regional Projects and Content Manager at EBC. The broadcaster is part of a pilot project of the Brasil Digital Program, coordinated by the Ministry of Communications (MCom), with support from the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), and aims to expand the population's access to educational, cultural, scientific and public interest content. For the dean of UFPel, Ursula Rosa da Silva, the inauguration creates a relevant space for the qualification of journalism students and for the dissemination of academic production.  "Firstly, it is important for the training of our journalism students, a space for experience and professional qualification. This will make it easier for our graduates to enter the communications job market. And also a space that opens up for the dissemination of all the teaching, research, extension and innovation projects that we have at UFPel", he declared. The estimate is that the UFPel TV signal will reach around 460 thousand inhabitants in the municipalities of Pelotas, Capão do Leão, São José do Norte, Rio Grande and other neighboring cities. The federal investment allocated to the implementation of the station was around R$700,000. The initiative strengthens public communication in Rio Grande do Sul and increases the offer of free programming focused on education, science, culture and citizenship for the region. In addition to content produced at the university level, the population will have access to multiprogramming on EBC's public channels. Check out the multiprogramming in Pelotas (RS): 1.1 – TV UFPel / TV Brasil 1.2 – Gov Channel 1.3 – Education Channel 1.4 – Health Channel