The Strategic Plan for the Center for Brazilian Studies at University of Washington, in partnership with the Brazilian Honorary Consulate in Seattle

 

 

 

Introduction

The strategic plan outlined here presents concrete steps required for improving a première Center for Brazilian Studies at the University of Washington. The interest in this project stems from a broad coalition of forces – business and government interests in Brazil, the Brazilian heritage community in the Washington, and business, education and civic leaders in the Puget Sound who appreciate that a deeper familiarity with and richer understanding of Brazil is key to this region’s future.

Presently there is a growing realization that Brazil is and will increasingly become one of the major superpowers in the world. It is already the 6th largest economy in the world and is a central economic and political broker to much of South America ; it is geographically the 5th largest country on the planet and therefore controls a tremendous amount of natural resources which places it on the front lines of the battle against global warming and renewable energy; it is a potent social-cultural force given its cultural richness coupled with a media empire; and population wise it ranks 5th internationally.

Brazil is also part of the B.R.I.C, that refers to the countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China that are deemed to all be at a similar stage of newly advanced economic development. Now is the time to start strengthening the relations between Brazil and the Pacific Northwest. The University of Washington with its students and academics could benefit a lot with a deeper understanding of Brazil. Building this bridge now will surely bring future partnerships between Brazilian companies and Universities and the Pacific Northwest Academics and Business.

Purpose

The Washington, which has a private and non-profit sector that are largely dependent upon and oriented toward global trade, cannot hope to thrive in this century if it remains largely in the dark about Brazil. Thus, the mission of the Center for Brazilian Studies is focused on changing this. Its aim is to fill this large knowledge gap. Its purpose is to elevate the level of Brazilian Studies to be at least on par with the area studies of other world superpowers.

The Center for Brazilian Studies, once adequately funded and staffed, will be one of the première resource centers for Brazil in the U.S. It will stimulate the establishment and growth of Brazilian-related opportunities for students, researchers, teachers, businesses, non-profits and policymakers. 1) At the UW and elsewhere CBS will lobby for issues that affect the study of Brazil. 2) It will help to strengthen the ties among the Brazilian community (4.000 people approximately) through offering Brazilian related events and other opportunities for networking and community building. Thus, through these various venues it will help to close the knowledge gap identified above. We will serve as a reference of Brazil, guiding people in any subject related to Brazil in the state of Washington.

Strategic Plan

The Center will meet its goals by
Promoting lectures with successful Brazilians working in different areas such as ; entrepreneurship, technology, arts , literature, sustainability, Non Profit organizations etc. In a way to broaden the horizons of people who live in Washington about Brazilian affairs. These lectures could take place at the University of Washington or other venues. This would be fundraising events for the Center.
Organizing workshops where people from the Brazilian government will come and explain the steps of how to start a business in Brazil from abroad.
Increase the number of exchange students , professors, and researchers from the US and Brazil. Increasing the relations between academics, researchers and intellectuals in both countries.
The Center will serve as a reference and offer links, information and resources for people interested in different themes about Brazil. The Center will be the connection for other Universities and agencies interested in promoting exchange programs with Brazil.
Promoting events (happy hour,fundraising,concerts) related to Brazilian traditions/culture to gather the four thousand Brazilians that live today in Washington and share Brazilian culture with the pacific Northwest. We will also promote parties such as Carnival, Saint John celebration, World Cup and Olympic Games. These events will serve to promote Brazil while bring the Brazilian community together.
Offer Brazilian Consular Services at the University of Washington at specific dates since the nearest Brazilian Consulate is in San Francisco. These services would be for Brazilians that need to regulate their documents (passports,birth certificates, marriage certificates) and Americans (visa, travel information,residence).
Help to improve and promote the Brazilian Events that already exist in Washington, like Brasilfest. We will serve as a bridge with Brazil to bring more musicians and attractions to Washington.
Assisting Brazilians who wish to visit this region for business or educational purposes. CBS will assist K-12 teachers who wish to develop their curriculum on Brazil.
Helping businesses by using our connections in Brazil to help with the myriad of issues they may face vis-à-vis exporting and importing, and give them a larger pool of employee candidates who have Portuguese language skills and knowledge of Brazil.
Assisting government officials in making contacts with their peers in Brazil.
Promote a “Brazil week” once a year where Lectures will take place everyday. Each day there will be talks on a variety of subjects. At the end of the week a party will be hosted offering the opportunity for people to meet and network.
Create a Brazilian Portuguese After School Program in Bellevue or Redmond to keep Brazilian expat children in contact with our culture.
Sponsorship and partnership with the Brazilian media shows in Seattle, like Raizes at KBCS-FM and others.

Budget and Financial Estimates

To create a Director and Associate Director of Brazilian Studies, an US$ 2 million endowment is needed. This will allow for a faculty member to be paid roughly 20% more in exchange for assuming the administrative responsibilities of director. CBS realizes that to build this endowment, an individual is required to devote all his/her energies to this project. And so in the short-term we are seeking US$ 60.000 to hire a full-time development specialist to help us to build such an endowment. This would give an individual at least one year to work on building the endowment and at the minimum garnering enough money so that she or he could continue work on building the endowment and creating ways to make the Center for Brazilian Studies sustainable. It is clear that the need for this Center at the University of Washington is widely recognized. But without someone with the resources and time to devote to building the endowment, we are unlikely to make the degree of headway that needs to be made. Such an individual can hold fundraising events, spend the necessary time networking, search for grants, and learn from the strategies of other area studies centers. This so-called Executive Director would report to the Board of Directors. The Executive Director will give the daily energy and hands on mentoring that is critical to the Center’s mission. He/she must be experienced in fundraising, social networking, have a well-rounded understanding of Brazilian academic, cultural, and business environment, and have leadership abilities and interpersonal skills.

Facility, Site and Organizational Structure

CBS is now located in 122 Thomson Hall in The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. It’s website is http://jsis.washington.edu/brazil/. CBS is also at Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, already building the social network necessary for the Center. CBS, as part of the University of Washington, enjoys non-profit status 501(c)(3). Thus, all contributions are considered charitable donations. CBS is currently composing its board of directors which will have about 5-9 members consisted of people with a mixture of business and entrepreneurial experience, government officials, people from the so-called third sector and representatives of area higher education institutions. The Center will be staffed by a Director and Associate Director. The Director will have CEO responsibilities and the Associate Director will be responsible for assisting the Director with development and administrative matters

Visas to Brazil

Yes, all Americans traveling to Brazil, whether for tourism or business, are required to obtain a visa.

To get it, go to the website of the Consulate of Brazil in San Francisco, California, fill out the forms electronically and go to our agency in the region , Kitanda / Sendexnet
425.8204381
12700 NE 124th ST # 2 –
Kirkland
WA 98034
joao@sendexnet.com

If you go to the website of the Consulate of Brazil in San Francisco, you can get all the information you need.

You can also call the Consulate, preferably in the afternoon, Pacific time.

300 Montgomery Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94104

Tel.: (415) 981-8170
Fax: (415) 986-4625

If you want to send a letter to the Honorary Consulate of Brazil in Seattle, please send it to:

HONORARY CONSULATE DO BRAZIL IN SEATTLE

PO. BOX 51105

Seattle, 98115

The United States

Tourist and Visa Processing Fee to Brazil will increase

Effective May 2, 2012, visa processing fees will increase, under the principle of reciprocity. The tourist and business visa processing fee will increase to $160. Please click here to see the new visa fee table.

 

A massive online campaign by the Avaaz community in Brazil has just won a stunning victory against corruption.

The “clean record” law was a bold proposal that banned any politician convicted of crimes like corruption and money laundering from running for office. With nearly 25% of the Congress under investigation for corruption, most said it would never pass. But after Avaaz launched the largest online campaign in Brazilian history, helping to build a petition of over 2 million signatures, 500,000 online actions, and tens of thousands of phone calls, we won!

Avaaz members fought corrupt congressmen daily as they tried every trick in the book to kill, delay, amend, and weaken the bill, and won the day every time. The bill passed Congress, and already over 330 candidates for office face disqualification!

One Brazilian member wrote to us when the law was passed, saying:

I have never been as proud of the Brazilian people as I am today! Congratulations to all that have signed. Today I feel like an actual citizen with political power. — Silvia

Our strategy in Brazil was simple: make a solution so popular and visible that it can’t be opposed, and be so vigilant that we can’t be ignored.

This victory shows what our community can do – at a national level, in developing nations, and on the awful problem of corruption. Anywhere in the world, we can build legislative proposals to clean up corruption in government, back them up with massive citizen support, and fight legislators who try to block them.

France’s Le Monde called our “impressive and unprecedented petition” campaign a “spectacular political and moral victory for civil society.” And while this victory may be a first, we can make it the precedent for global citizen action.

Amazingly, our entire Brazil campaign was made possible by just a couple of Avaaz team members, serving over 600,000 Avaaz members in Brazil. The power of the Avaaz model is that technology can enable a tiny team to help millions of people work together on the most pressing issues. It’s one of the most powerful ways a small donation can make a difference in the world.

5.6 million of us are reading this email — if a small fraction of us donate just $3 or $5 per week, or 50 cents per day, the entire Avaaz team will be funded and we can even expand our work on corruption and a range of issues. Click below to become a Sustainer of Avaaz and help take our anti-corruption campaigning global:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/ficha_limpa_reportback/?vl

We’ve seen the heart-wrenching movies about street kids and desperate urban poverty in Brazil, and we know that across the world political corruption preys on our communities and saps human potential. In Brazil, our community has helped turn the tide and usher in a new era of transparent, accountable politics. Let’s seize the opportunity and begin to fight corruption everywhere it’s needed today.

e-mail received from  Ricken Patel – Avaaz.org

The greatest manifestation of faith in the world.

A great manifestation of faith happened yesterday in the capital of São Paulo, up to five million people have marched through on Thursday, according to reports from yahoo site! New in July, Brazil has the largest Catholic population in the world. Evangelic took as the streets to sing and pray. Many wore green and yellow in honor of the Brazilian team. The event had truck with gospel music. There was also the participation of 630 floats.

The event in Corpus Christi is a very special event for many Brazilians. Nes day we found a giant manifestation of joy faith and prayers.

Opportunity to study in Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in South America has a wide range of options to visit. Brazil is different from any other place in the Western Hemisphere. The spoken language is Portuguese and not Spanish. Also Brazil received a larger influx of African slaves than any other South American country. Brazil has an important historical centers and national parks, such as Guararapes, Recife and Serra da Canastra in Minas General.
Many students do exchange in Brazil to study. Brazil offers a free foreign degree according to the Education Portal. “The number of foreigners grew 53% over the past two years – all entered the country with student visas. According to the Federal Police, the number of people jumped from 5142 in 2007 to 7889 in 2009. The reason is because higher education is free for some students. Today, some 2700 foreigners studying in Brazil through the program. Over the past five years, the average inflow was 604 new students per year. Last year, the University of São Paulo (USP) received 832 exchange students, of whom 134 were SGP-G. The university has agreements with 472 institutions from 53 countries”.

Project Tamar saves Marine Turtle

Create in 1980 by IBDF (Brazilian Institute for Forest Development), the Tamar project aims to preserve endangered marine turtles. According to data from the project about nine million turtles have been saved. Work began in Bahia (Praia do Forte), Espírito Santo (Train) and Sergipe (Pirambú). Can you visit this project’s facilities to see the turtles all around the Brazilian coast – for instance, the friend in the photo above is available to meet you Every day from 9:00 to 17:00 in the project center on Praia do Forte. The idea is fantastic and has many people involved in this project, volunteers and non-profit institutions. If you want to know the project adopt a turtle and buy a t-shirt will be doing their part in those animals so very friendly benefits. The project also aims to environmental education, raising awareness about the preservation of marine life. When animals are found sick, injured are rehabilitated and returned to the sea

Brazil couldn´t be a better place for honeymooners and all kinds of travellers

Couples couldn’t pick a better destination than Brazil for their honeymoon. Many styles of music pulsate throughout this South American country. Some, such as bossa nova and samba, are well known outside Brazil, while others, including axe, choro, forro and frevo, are more localized. There’s music to celebrate Carnival, music inspired by martial arts, music that sounds like hyped-up marching bands and music that requires an accordion. Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Brazilian influences pervade many genres. And there are much more amazing things to enjoy in this wonderful and huge tropical country, which got independent from Portugal in 1822. Its people are vivacious, generous and very outward going.

“The Frank Sinatra of Latin America” has sold 120 million records

When he first emerged as a singer, Roberto Carlos was nicknamed the Elvis Presley of Brazil. Fifty years later,  he is more often described as “the Frank Sinatra of Latin America”. No Latin American has sold more records than Roberto Carlos, who  performed on Friday and Saturday night at Radio City Music Hall, part of a North American tour that wraps up a year’s worth of events commemorating half a century as a recording artist.  He is considered one of the most influential artists in Brazil during the 1960s, being cited as a source of inspiration by many artists and bands up to the 1980s. Roberto Carlos left Jovem Guarda in 1968, changing direction to appeal to a wider audience. Moving to romantic ballads,  he became an international star, gaining popularity, awards and breaking musical sales records. During the 1970s, he was also a regular performer on both Brazilian and international television variety shows. He is known to every Brazilian simply as “the King”.

Brasília is celebrating its 50th anniversary

The Brazilian capital, Brasília, designed by the one of the greatest architect of the world, Oscar Niemeyer, is going to celebrate half a century on April 21st. The new city, located right in the middle of the country, in Central Plateau, started to be build in mid 1950´s, by then president Juscelino Kubitscheck, to be the new Brazilian capital. Built in under four years, Brasília was a dream for many Brazilians who thought the country should have its capital inland, not in the coat as was Rio de Janeiro´s case. Today, Brasília has nearly 3m inhabitants, where the empty spaces of barren land are becoming more and more scarce. Since 1960, the city has turned into a giant, still rapidly expanding. The evidence is in the landscape which, when seen from above, reveals the diversity of Brasília and the Federal District. The urban centre of the capital today is a mosaic of cultures from all over Brazil.