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Youth Programs in Brazil


Related to country: Brazil
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The next few blogs were posted by me during my participation on the official Canadian state visit to Brazil, July 6-12, with Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean.

I am writing to you on my flight from Salvador to Sao Paulo with a strong sense of gratitude. This is my first visit to Brazil and after only a few days I feel incredibly connected to a vibrant culture and people. I have been most inspired by the various youth programs that we have been exposed to. Given the disparities between the wealthy and impoverished, it is particularly important to reach out to those who are most vulnerable in order to ensure that they have access to opportunities. The Afro-Brazilians are most disadvantaged in Salvador due to the historical issues of slavery and forms of social exclusion that continue to have a negative impact today.

Most of the projects that we visited in Salvador had a special focus on reaching Afro-Brazilian youth through a variety of methods. At Olodum School we enjoyed a lively performance where students showcased their drumming and dancing talents! The school is open to children and youth from at risk communities as a means of developing their talents, confidence, leadership skills and connection to African heritage. It brought such joy to my soul to experience the rhythm of the music combined with the bright eyes and smiles of the student performers! The Olodum school is part of the internationally recognized group of Olodum percussionists who recently travelled Toronto performing at the Harbourfront Centre during Carnivalissima. I love the idea of linking a professional group of artists with up and coming talent.

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We visited another project called GAPA-BA (Bahia’s AIDS Support and Prevention Group) where we enjoyed a theatre production and Hip Hop show with teenage performers from vulnerable communities who are involved in the program. The underlying message of the performances is focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and health education. This peer-to-peer model is quite effective as it allows the students directly involved to become positive influencers in the broader community.

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Another inspiring youth engagement project that we visited was the Association of Young Painters of Naïve Art. This community organization involves youth in after-school training and activities involving graphic design, painting, sewing and baking with the aim of fostering employability and entrepreneurship skills. The group has worked with 1,200 youth since launching in 1999. What stood out for me in our visit was the inviting dynamic of the space and the sense of ownership and involvement the youth had in this environment.

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Imagine having lunch with your Head of State!


Related to country: Brazil
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

On the last day of our State Visit to Brazil a special lunch was organized for us to celebrate our time together. michael casey photos 326
As we all started to find our seats in the restaurant, Ambassador Guillermo E. Rishchynski allowed me to take his seat and sit next to Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean. I was so delighted to be able to share a meal together at this table and had a chance to ask a few questions about leadership and handling situations of high pressure. I am inspired by how well our Governor General is able to connect with people who have such a diverse range of life experiences and interests. When meeting new people, she has an ability to listen, reflect and respond with a sense of compassion, humility and strength which is something I admire.

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Youth as a Priority in Brazil


Related to country: Brazil
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

As part of our State Visit to Brazil a meeting was arranged with the members of the Canadian Delegation focused on Youth Engagement and the Secretaria Nacional de Juventude (National Youth Secretariat) of Brazil. I found this meeting to be incredibly interesting and relevant to the work of TakingITGlobal.

In 2006, TakingITGlobal conducted a study on National Youth Councils from 22 countries with a focus on understanding their creation, evolution, purpose and governance. The following is a list of the countries included in the study along with a link to the report here

Armenia: National Youth Council of Armenia (NYCA)
Belgium - Flemish: Vlaamse Jeugdraad (VJ)
Belgium - French: Le Conseil de la Jeunesse d’expression française (CJEF)
Germany: Deutscher Bundesjugendring (DBJR)
Greece: National Council of Hellenic Youth Organisations (ESYN)
Ireland: National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI)
Latvia: Latvijas Jaunatnes padome (LJP)
Lithuania: Lithuania Youth Council (LiJOT)
Nigeria: National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN)
Portugal: Conselho Nacional de Juventude (CNJ)
Russia: National Youth Council of Russia (NYCR)
Slovakia: Rada mládeže Slovenska (RMS)
Slovenia: Mladinski svet Slovenije (MSS)
Sweden: Landsrådet för Sveriges ungdomsorganisationer (LSU)
Switzerland: Conseil Suisse Activités de Jeunesse - Schweizerische Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Jugendverbände (CSAJ-SAJV)
The Netherlands: Nationale Jeugdraad (NJ)
Uganda: National Association of Youth Organisations in Uganda (NAYOU)

State-driven National Youth Councils or Commissions
Costa Rica: Consejo Nacional de Política Pública de la Persona Joven (Conseja de la Persona Joven/CPJ)
The Philippines: National Youth Commission (NYC)
Zambia: The National Youth Development Council (NYDC)

Other youth umbrella structures
Turkey: Local Agenda 21 National Youth Parliament (LA21 NYP)
Ukraine: Ukrainian Union of Youth Organizations (USMO)

Canada does not have a National Youth Council yet a sense of interest and momentum has been growing over recent years. During our meeting in Brazil we learned that there was an extensive 3 year process involving research and consultations that led to the National Youth Policy, National Youth Secretariat and National Youth Council that is linked directly to the office of the President and connects with various ministries. There are many priorities identified in the national youth policy including ending illiteracy, employment generation, capacity building, health promotion, arts and culture, environmental issues, leisure and recreation, Information and Communication Technologies, human rights, rural youth, enlarging the citizenship space. Youth-Friendly materials have been produced in order to more broadly disseminate information about the national youth policy that was launched in 2006. The National Youth Council is a consultative group that has representation from government ministries and civil society. Brazil has 50.5 Million youth between the ages of 15-29 with 9 million who are unemployed and 4.5 million who are unemployed and out of school with no primary education. In effort to foster a fully inclusive democracy and socially fair country, there is a particular focus on trying to provide opportunities for these youth who are most disadvantaged. In thinking about inclusion it is important to recognize various dimensions ranging from social inclusion, professional inclusion, educational inclusion, digital inclusion and cultural inclusion.
Brazil has 5360 municipalities of which 10% have youth agencies or local structures that are in place to help implement the youth policy. These youth agencies are primarily based in the larger cities. The aim of the National Youth Secretariat is to ensure that the theme and priority of youth is consolidated as a state policy and lasts beyond any administrative changes.

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I was fascinated with what we learned from our Brazilian colleagues during the meeting and have many questions that remain in my own mind such as:
• What factors contributed to youth becoming a major priority for Brazil?
• What emphasize does youth-led development have in the National Youth Policy?
• What is the current level of awareness of the National Youth Policy and National Youth Council?
• How seriously does the government take input from youth?
• How do they balance priorities of inclusion?
• How are issues of generational conflict addressed, especially when existing power structures are challenged?
• The need for promoting leadership capacity among vulnerable youth is clear. What best practices have emerged in this area?
• What effects has the history of dictatorship had on youth engagement strategies – recognizing that youth were once seen as a threat to those in power.
• What budgets are in place to support the implementation of the National Youth Policy?
• In what ways are the youth organizations and networks in Brazil (both formal and informal structures) connected to each other and to the National Youth Council?
• In what ways does the National Youth Policy reflect the UN World Programme of Action for Youth (WPAY) ? Was the WPAY referenced during the development of the policy?
• How do existing youth networks and youth organizations relate to and benefit from the National Youth Council? Do people feel that it is inclusive and representative?
• What mechanisms are in place to ensure effective renewal and transition among the members of the Youth Council?
• In some cases, the opinions and attitudes of youth can be easily influenced or manipulated to reflect the agenda of existing powers. What mechanisms are in place to ensure autonomy, independent thinking and free flowing expression among participants?
• What mechanisms are in place to ensure that action emerges from the National Youth Policy?
• What decision-making scope does the National Youth Council hold?

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A Partnership in the Making


Related to country: Brazil
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Today I took part in an event called Art Matters with His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond. In looking at the list of participants on my way to the Art Matters event this morning I was trying to determine what the aim of my participation would be. Given the focus on Art and our recent approval of the Adobe grant (for our Global Gallery), I made a wish…to form a partnership with a museum that would allow us to have an art exhibition for our Global Gallery…
I met someone from the Secretary of Culture who is responsible for the museums and galleries in Sao Paulo – and she has agreed to providing space in the Museum of Image and Sound for us to showcase the submissions from our project!!!! This would likely be in March (allowing us time to implement our project and collect images). To add to the excitement, I also met with a Professor at the University of Sao Paulo who is responsible for the Laboratory of Integrated Systems and he has agreed to work with us on setting up the exhibit (involving some students) as well as the projection technology that he has in his lab! We took a picture together to celebrate the partnership and people from the Canadian Consul want to be involved/aware of the follow-up.

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I have always dreamed of our Global Gallery having an exhibit in a ‘real’ museum and I think that this dream will come true!! I think that this partnership will also trigger other places where we can exhibit the submissions including the Library of Alexandria, a cultural Gallery in Russia (forget the name), the Ontario Science Centre, the Lava Lounge in Sweden…etc.

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Art Matters Event


Related to country: Brazil
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Today I took part in a dialogue entitled ‘Art Matters’ with His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond and Daniela Bousso, the Director of Paco das Artes Organizacao Social de Cultura. There were about 30 of us involved in the discussion with a mix of Brazilians and Canadians involved in arts and new media. Our discussion focused on three central questions (1) Why has technological art not yet filtered into the general circulation of contemporary art? (2) In what way have new technologies allowed greater access to art (or not)? (3) What public policy strategies are necessary to allow promotion, diffusion and education in the area of art and new media?.

sao paulo 002 During the discussion I found myself trying to really listen to the various perspectives of people in the room as a means of developing my own perspective. A member of our group spoke about digital art as a collective form of expression that is often in contrast with fine arts as we know it. I agree and think of digital art as a living story and open system where we are all engaged as co-producers and co-creators of the experience. That said, digital technologies and tools to create, produce and disseminate digital art are not accessible to everyone. What concerns me most as someone who is growing up in a digital society, it seems that there is a decreasing focus on cultivating creative talents in our education systems. Funding for the arts in schools is on the decline. In some cases, there is funding for digital media arts programs but these efforts usually come in existence as a result of innovative teachers who are willing and able to go beyond the curriculum guidelines. In my opinion, I think that a priority should be placed on supporting the cultivation of creative talents among children and youth. Spaces that allow for critical thinking and deep reflection is an essential part of fostering personal growth. Art can be a vehicle for understanding oneself and how we relate to the world we live in. given our digital era where anyone has the ability to express themselves and share their stories, we potentially vulnerable to the risk of being bombarded by sensory overload, leading to desensitization. Has our digital culture of co-creation truly facilitated our access to a greater sense of community or deeper understanding and appreciation of life? How can we strike a balance between the individual and collective experience? These are my points of reflection for today.

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Logistics Behind a State Visit


Related to country: Brazil
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

What’s it like to be on an Official State Visit? I had the same question when I received the invitation to take part on the Official State Visit with the Governor General of Canada. Let me start by saying how impressed I am with the abilities of the logistical team, and their ability to carry out their work with a smile. An incredible level of detail is involved in organizing a trip of this nature. When I arrived at Rideau Hall we were each given a series of bag tags with our names written on them along with a garment bag to hold the clothes we wear upon arrival. The garment bag was for us to put clothes that we would change into on arrival. On the flight, when I arrived at my seat I found a little card that says ‘this seat belongs to Jennifer Corriero’. sao paulo 049

We each received a large briefing book to review on the flight and a small pocketbook with a detailed agenda including what van in the Motercade we would be riding in to and from each location. The level of security for our transportation has been most interesting from the inside view. Our delegation of about 10 vehicles is led and followed by police cars and there are police on motorcycles that drive beside us holding off traffic and clearing the roads. It’s funny to see the reaction of people as you drive by. Some are clearly frustrated about being held up in traffic and others are curious to know who sits behind the doors of the vehicles driving by. sao paulo 040

Upon arrival at our hotel, we head into a room that contains envelopes with names of each member of our delegation. We are all checked in and head straight to our rooms while our luggage arrives. A buffet breakfast has been included at each of our hotel stays which has allowed for a comfortable morning wake-up. The most uncomfortable part of my trip has been the amount of packing and unpacking in such a short amount of time. This is especially difficult for people like me who do not travel lightly!
Being in the presence of Her Excellency Michaelle Jean has been such an inspiring and moving experience for me on a personal level. Her sense of humility and genuine interest in the people that she meets with sets a very warm and welcoming tone. Being fluent in so many languages is also something that allows for a deeper connection with people. What has been most impressive to me is the ability of Her Excellency to deliver thoughtful and well articulated remarks during each of our visits, in most cases without any notes!

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