Dar Uma Volta

South Londoner born and bred with an appetite for connecting with people, places and what makes them tick. On this trip I'll be focusing on young people and enterprise in Brazil. Follow me while I find out directly from young people about their lives and projects that are creating new opportunities and ideas. Powered by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

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And she’s back....

What a difference a year and a half makes! After much procrastination, false starts and empty promises, I am back! Since moving to Rio in April, I’d been planning to chart my journey and the various adventures and experiences I had along the way on my blog but in the end, I’m settling for an end of year round-up and the aspiration to do better in 2016.

2016. Set to be a big year for me judging by the scale of the goals and ambitions I’ve set myself. I realised I was rapidly becoming unnerved by the scale of the tasks at hand to achieve the things I want to in 2016 so I decided to flip the script and reflect on what I’ve achieved in 2015 instead. 

Even though everyone knows it or can find plenty of sources that will tell you that when you’re starting out, the goal or ambition always seems much more challenging/overwhelming/daunting than it really is, it doesn’t seem to make starting or overcoming the fear of starting any easier. Especially when it feels like you’re at the bottom of an epic mountain that you have to climb to reach your goal.

Accepting that the journey might be quite difficult and not very straight forward isn’t the easiest pill to swallow either, so maybe reflecting on my achievements from 2015, many/some of which I might not have thought possible at the beginning of the the year could offer the confidence boost and self belief needed to take on 2016′s goals and ambitions. So here’s a round-up of my 2015 achievements...

Learning to ride a bike (finally!!)

Learning to speak Portuguese

Moving to Brazil

Setting up an international volunteer training programme in Rio

Developing and delivering the education strategy for a Brazilian NGO

Growing my network of friends and professional contacts in Brazil

Providing volunteer opportunities to over 30 international and Brazilian volunteers in the last 6 months

Finding a professor willing to help me develop my research ideas for an MA

Inspiring the development of a capacity building enterprise training programme for underserved Brazilian social and cultural entrepreneurs

Developing x2 strategic partnerships with Brazilian institutions

x2 interviews and articles about my work in national and international press...

It’s funny to think that if I look back to when I was setting my ambitions for 2015 some of these achievements wouldn’t be on the list. Too challenging/overwhelming/daunting... 

I guess there’s something to be said for getting in stuck in, giving it a go and having a bit more faith in what you’re capable of.  

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Whilst in Rio last year, I met Michel Silva, a really inspiring digital native and young entrepreneur who at the age of 20 has been running his own community news platform for the last 3 years. When Michel was 17 he spent a lot of time on Habbo.com, the online gaming community where he had the chance to connect with other gamers around the world and learn more about the real world communities they lived in. Habbo.com had its own online newspaper and Michel decided that he wanted to set up his own online newspaper all about Rocinha, his neighbourhood and one of Rio's largest favelas. Michel had no training in journalism or digital development but taught himself everything he needed to set up and run the online platform Viva Roçinha (www.vivarocinha.org) via the internet. Michel's mission was to show that there was more to life in his community than drugs and gangs, and despite being pacified by police 3 years ago, there were lots of bigger issues relating to health, education and police harassment in the community.

Michel's platform really took off when he published a photograph on the Viva Roçinha Facebook page of a policeman spraying teargas at a dog, which received over 20k shares. Michel has now created a paper version of his platform called 'Fala Roça', and at the time we met had recently launched his own web app, and won an award which gave him the chance to visit New York and learn more about citizen journalism. 

All of this kickstarted through his interest in online gaming. I interviewed Michel to find out a bit more about his ambitions and motivations...

What was your inspiration for setting up Viva Roçinha?

I didn’t like how other newspapers and news agencies like Globo, Meia Hora and Extra were showing the ‘reality’ of what was happening in my community after the pacification. They are very sensationalist and always talking about the drug war and crime and ignored everything else.

I got the idea and started the newspaper in 2010 when the Governor of Rio announced he was pacifying Roçinha. My sister Michele who has experience as a journalist and doing publicity joined me in 2011.

I’ve always loved reading and read a lot of magazines and newspapers when I was young. I learnt a lot and would get paid to do other people’s homework at school [because of writing skills]

How did Viva Roçinha become recognised?

In June 2012, there was a lot of tension between police and Roçinha residents, with police being violent and mistreating residents. 2012 was a very important year for Viva Roçinha because I was able to capture and share stories like the police spraying tear gas at a dog which got lots of people talking and sharing content. I then set up a group on Whatsapp and Facebook so that people could share their stories or photos to include on Viva Roçinha.

I started to wear a t-shirt to promote Viva Roçinha around the community. My friends all thought I was crazy and said I could end up like Tim Lopes [a Globo investigative journalist who was tortured and killed by a drug gang in Vila Cruzeiro for trying to report on those who ran the community]

Where do you source your stories?

I really like walking around and will spend all day walking around my neighbourhood and neighbouring favelas like Vidigal, Alemao and Cantagalo. I will get up and leave the house at 8 in the morning and not get back till 11 at night just walking around my neighbourhood.

What are some of your highlights since setting up Viva Roçnha?

I won a prize from Natura for fighting for the voice and power of communities

It’s also led to me having a more political role in my community unintentionally as I spend time going to residents’ meetings and meeting with groups there

How did you end up getting involved with the Agencia?

I wanted to go beyond the internet and create Fala Roça, a paper version of Viva Roçinha and getting involved with the Agencia gave me access to a lot of networks and some funding to get my idea off the ground. Every one on the team for Fala Roça is aged between 18 and 25, we all have different roles but everyone writes even if they have no experience. Fala Roça is given out to the community by the group that put it together. We deliver newspapers around the community, explaining the project and encouraging the rest of the community to write.

We have a journalist that volunteers, doing editing and mentoring. He takes on the responsibility if any goes wrong from a journalistic point of view

Why do you think Viva Roçinha and Fala Roça have been so popular?

A lot of the community like it because it reminds them of a local newspaper we had back in the 80s and 90s. The paper is all about Roçinha and the North Eastern Brazilian culture that we have there. Now we’re the crazy young people who have brought the paper back. The paper has also helped the community deal with some really difficult issues.

In the last edition we focused on the story of Amarildo, the family man who lived in our community and was tortured and killed by police though his body has still not been found. The latest edition of Fala Roça [June 2014] has the headline ‘Cadê o Amarildo’ as the community wanted to make sure that Amarildo’s memory and what had happened was not forgotten

 As well as sharing the story of how he set up Viva Roçinha and Fala Roça, Michel was also really keen to show his community and offer a different perspective of life in favela communities than what we may have heard from the media and other people that don’t live there. The opportunity to spend the day with Michel in Rocinha was one of the highlights (if not the biggest highlight) of my Winston Churchill Fellowship last year. The vibrancy, buzz, pace and energy of the community was incredibly inspiring and went beyond the 2-dimensional portrayal of constant fear, danger and tension often associated with life in favela communities in the media.

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Viva Rochinha! Amazing views of Rocinha, one of Rio's largest favela communities. Courtesy of Michel Silva, founder of Fala Roça, community newspaper keeping residents informed of the issues that matter most to them.

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Monique Evelle, 19 from Salvador, is the founder of Desabafo Social an online hub connecting with young people across Brazil to promote the human rights of children and young people. I interviewed Monique to find out more about her inspiration and what her future plans are for the project...

What is Desabafo Social all about?

Educating children and young people from favela communities about their human rights using workshops, an online magazine and web radio.

We work with schools and deliver workshops on topics like racism, sexual violence and abuse to help children recognise and defend their rights. Getting the chance to work with schools was hard at first as they didn’t want to try something new but once we were able to persuade one school, we could use this as a way to work with others.

How do you work with children and young people?

We run ‘rodas’ or roundtables for young people, where they can ask questions about key issues rather than just being talked at and listening in a formal lecture style. We can learn more about what young people think about some of these difficult topics too

We also get young people from different communities to contribute to the magazine and use the workshops to offer information to young people about different topics they might not know much about.

What made you decide to set up your project?

I was inspired to start my project after going to a seminar run by ABMP, an association of judges, barristers and other legal representatives dedicated to improving the youth justice system

What are the tools you need to succeed?

The internet is a great way to study, learn more from others and stay connected to other projects and young people. Getting visibility for your project is important and using social media is a great way to do this. Desabafo Social has been able to reach more young people and set up groups in other states because of our connections through the internet and social media

What is your ambition for the project?

I want to be able to offer support to other groups that might want to set up something similar. I’d like to be able to offer funding and advice to young people that wanting to set something up.

What advice do you have for young people wanting to run their own projects?

Try to find a balance between work and your personal and emotional life, be patient and try to work for opportunities not just necessity.

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A fascinating insight into memories and stories of people living in favelas throughout Rio

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SWOT x FOFA

I discovered whilst spending time with budding young entrepreneurs completing the ADEL training programme that this common planning tool for projects and new ideas can be found in Brazil too.

Weighing up the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats aka Forças, Fraquezas, Oportunidades, Ameaças in Portuguese of a business can be a great way to make a decision about whether a new idea is a good one or  to change the way that something is usually done.

The ADEL young entrepreneurs were testing it out on hypothetical businesses with the idea being that once their own enterprises were up and running, they'd have a way to consider their options that works well. This was just one of the many helpful tools and techniques young entrepreneurs were learning on the training programme, all aiming to give the young people taking part the best start to their new businesses.

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My first experience of 'quadrilha' in Fortaleza this summer....

I'd never come across quadrilha before but every summer, the north eastern states of Brazil give way to tournaments and performances where young people from lots communities come together to perform routines they have been practicing for months  in elaborate colourful costumes, telling stories linked to marriage and the legend of São João.

I was amazed by the stamina of the dancers who performed in sweltering heat, determined to showcase their months of rehearsal.

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Meet Uerlem, 25, from Santa Marta, a favela community in the heart of Rio famous for its stunning views and being one of the locations where Michael Jackson shot the music video for hit ‘They Don’t Really Care about Us’ 19 years ago.

Uerlem was 6 when Michael came to visit and can remember how excited everyone was even though he didn’t really understand who Michael was at the time. Years later, Uerlem is making his own films as well as working with Cinema Nosso.

How did you get involved with Cinema Nosso?

I took part in a workshop they ran in Santa Marta which got me interested in cinema. I then did a Producer course in 2012 which took me through the basics and then on to advanced film-making. I now work with Cinema Nosso to earn money so I can make my own productions.

I always knew I loved film but didn’t have any opportunities to get involved when I was growing up. I’ve started a collective of people that like film as well to try and create an environment where people in my community can have more opportunity

How has the UPP (Pacification Police Unit) and UPP Social helped?

UPP Social focuses on the urbanization of the area – creating maps and road names and showing where everything is in a neighbourhood. When community projects arrive, they don’t really do any research any research about what young people want to do and don’t really offer tailored projects.

Santa Marta is seen as a more privileged favela because of its location (South Zone Rio) but any investment in the area is always the minimum.  I don’t have any resources to get basic equipment like a phone, internet connection or computers but I would like to start a project in my community.

How do you make an impact on your community?

I try to make connections by talking to young people in my community, using Facebook and photography to bring people together. I try to set a good example to younger people.

What are you working on at the moment?

I shot a documentary about a festival in Mangueira which involved lots of young people from different favalas coming together. The festival happened at the beginning of the year, my friend had a camera and we got content for the film with the bare minimum in terms of equipment.

Investment in cinema and culture has stopped so you have to rely on private businesses to get sponsorship as getting the chance to show your films in festivals is difficult.

What advice would you give to young people trying to a project going?

There’s opportunity everywhere, you just have to decide what you want to do. Don’t worry about not having enough talent or money, focus on finding what you like to do. Explore because the opportunity is out there.

What would be the one thing you want to share with young people in the UK?

In Rio, where you live determines how your life will go. Young people in the South Zone favelas live near theatres and cinemas but never get to access them. They may be close geographically but really they’re a million miles apart. It seems so cruel for young people who can only imagine what it’s like in these places. When you’re born in a favela you’re used to not being able to achieve much or get where you want to be. Getting into the world of art, film or TV when you live in a favela community is incredibly difficult and if you get an opportunity to do anything you have to hold on to it.

For young people in the UK where there are a lot more opportunities, you have to try and imagine what it would be like to have just one opportunity rather than lots and make the most of it. 

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Maria Isabel, 26, is an aspiring producer and director who has been involved with Cinema Nosso, a film school for young people from Rio’s communities since 2006. Maria has a connection to the Cruzada favela community near Leblon through her father but says it’s not part of her daily life. Maria still tries to find ways to give back, inspired by her mum and the help that her family once received from priest in her community

How did you get involved with cinema?

I’ve been involved with Cinema Nosso since I was 18 and it offered me a good distraction from going down the wrong path, getting involved in drugs or getting pregnant too young. Cinema and theatre can be really restricted to young people from the communities but Cinema Nosso offered a way in. It helped to build my self-esteem and showed that it is possible for young people to get into this area.

What projects have you done with Cinema Nosso?

I’ve produced lots of films outside of the school now but I’ve also helped to produce 5 films with Cinema Nosso. It’s been really good to learn more about different aspects of film production and helped prepare me for my university course in Film.

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m writing a script for a documentary about problems with the removal of favelas in Rio and the violence and discrimination that faces people in favelas. I want to try and break the stereotypes and overcome the stigma that you face if you’re young and black in the southern zone of Rio.

When my mum went back to study at university, she had to deal with a lecturer that thought and said that all people from favela communities were bums and wouldn’t achieve anything. This isn’t an unusual perspective.

What are your ambitions for the future?

I’m planning to finish my film course at university and then I’d like to study for a masters in another part of the world like LA, London or New York

What advice would you give to a young person trying to pursue something they were really passionate about?

Keep your feet on the ground, don’t hang your head and follow what you want 

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Some fine street art at Beco do Batman in S.P. Such different influences and inspiration on one street

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What do you get when you set 7 young creatives from one of Brasil’s leading creative media schools a brief to share their ideas and thoughts on enterprise, creativity and how they’d inspire other young people to get creative?

I found out at the workshop session that I delivered in the Oi! Kabum school in Ipanema, Rio…

Oi! Kabum supports young people from a diverse range of backgrounds to develop their skills and ideas in creative media, running courses that cover everything from photography and graphic design to film and animation. Young people at Oi! Kabum learn how to generate new ideas and be open to the ways that these can be developed and shared across a number of different media.

This approach was reflected in the way that the young people in my workshop tackled the brief to create a tool that I could used to inspire young people to create their own projects in the UK. Despite having a very open brief, the group organised themselves quickly in terms of their roles within the team, getting stuck into generating ideas pretty much straightaway.

There was a challenge to settle on an idea and not get overwhelmed by the prospect of not knowing where to start, how to create something that could be shared from their ideas and being wary of getting hit by the ‘iceberg do esquecimento’ – the iceberg of oblivion. A very impressive way of describing the ultimate writer’s block!

Rather than being overwhelmed by the possibilities, the group decided all of the options and ideas they had would be a great way to illustrate the magic that can happen when exchanging ideas, sharing connections and bringing together individuals to work towards a common goal. The group talked a lot about the creative journey being as important as the final destination, as the choices that you make along the way are all reflected in what you end up with and understanding how you got there can be really important.

Somewhere along the way this developed into the idea of ‘Louco-motivar’ – a new phrase that combined two words – louco (mad) and motivar (motivation), also connecting to the idea of a locomotive. For these young creative, being a bit crazy and having some motivation is what powers your creative ideas, the engine of your ‘Louco-motivar’. The energy and ideas that you can get from  other people can really help to drive your ideas forward and build on the original idea, like extra carriages on your locomotive.

There were lots of layers to the idea and the group even created a short video to show it in action. Sadly technical problems on the day mean that I don’t have the video to share but the main idea is strong enough without the visuals.

Ultimately to kickstart a creative idea or project, you need a little bit of motivation and a little bit of craziness to make it work and your ideas stand gather steam and grow even more if you build and share them with others – Louco-motivar!

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Spotlight on a leading social entrepreneur...

Who: Léo Martins Dias

What does Léo do: Working with grassroot leaders in favela communities across Brazil, giving them tools to do even more for their communities and have a greater impact.

How did he end up here: Léo got his first taste of working with communities in Rio when he was just 13 and went along to a reading project run by his mum in a favela community next to Leme where Léo grew up.

"Up to that point, the only encounter I had had with young people from [favela] communities was trying to run away to avoid getting into fights. When I started going to my mum's project I began to make friends with young people in these communities and soon had more connections and spent more time in the favelas than I did in the city".

Later Léo went to university and ended up working with some big global companies after graduating across Europe and Brazil.

"I started working in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) with these companies before it was really a thing and decided to start looking at how I could use these same skills to empower community and grassroot leaders"

This has led Léo to work with projects across Rio, Salvador, Manaus and Sao Paulo.

How does he do it: Léo connects with a variety of community leaders and shares some common themes and basic principles that can be applied to help them achieve their goals for their community:

Building strong networks - This is more than just being introduced to lots of different organisations. This is about making real connections that help to break own barriers and finding opportunities to connect and really support each other.

Co-create - A leader cannot come up with a solution for their community on their own. They need the support of the people living there and those trying to support them need to believe in the work that is being done and see the benefit and value for the community. By getting the community to play a role in creating a solution they will also be able to play their part in helping it to succeed.

Visibility - One of the biggest challenges for grassroot leaders trying to improve their communities is lack of visibility around the work they are doing and what they have achieved. Getting visibility for the work that is being done in favela communities from the media is incredibly difficult but it can make a massive difference in terms of unlocking resources, networks and bringing more value to the work that is being done. This is a really important factor for community leaders

Final top tips for aspiring social entrepreneurs: Perseverance is key - never give up, self belief is also really important and taking care of your partners - if you can help to get good results for everyone involved in your project than everyone will want to put more good into it.

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Voz Para as Cabecas, the creative media project from Soldado Anonimo in action…

Giving a voice to people from favela communities who are usually excluded from mainstream media and wanting to show content that reflects reality more.

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The bright young minds behind ‘Soldado Anonimo’

Joao Gilberto, 21, Olivia Lopes, 20, Yasmin Lima, 21, and Jonathan Pereira, 22 are the founders of Soldado Anonimo, using media, art, drama and poetry to tackle tough issues facing children, young people and their families in Brazil. I interview Joao to find out more about the collective.

Tell us more about Soldado Anonimo. How did you get started?

We all studied together at Oi! Kabum (creative media school for young people in Rio) and got inspiration for the project from the disciplines we were learning about (art, photography, film, animation etc). Soldado Anonimo highlights issues of sexual exploitation and trafficking amongst children and young people. We used poetry to explore these issues and combined this with the digital media skills we were learning. Voz Para as Cabecas (Voice for Heads) is our main project which sees people wearing suits and TVs on their heads, showing different messages, images, news and pieces of drama and documentaries (see next post to see Voz Para as Cabecas in action).

What’s the inspiration for Voz Para as Cabecas?

We use TVs, but not in the traditional way where the viewer is totally passive and turns into a person without a voice. We want to give a voice to people from favela communities who are usually excluded from mainstream media and we want to show content that reflects reality more.

How has Soldado Anonimo developed since it was you set it up 3 years ago?

We’re viewed as innovative because we’re young people that started the project, creating our own media to tackle some serious issues and this has led to more attention and more opportunities for us. We run workshops in schools but ran our first one outside of a school in May last year for SESC (Brazilian organisation that offers lots of free services to the public). This workshop went really well so we decided to apply for some funding and managed to get some which was surprising because our project isn’t really about art [much tougher topic]. We also didn’t really know what we were doing in terms of setting up a project, so we had to learn as we went along. We had to stay patient and calm to make it happen.

What keeps you motivated?

We really want to create and make this project happen. We’re really passionate about what we’re doing and that really helps

As well as your art pieces you also deliver workshops, what material do you cover?

We look at urban art, occupation of urban spaces and the way people perceive the city and how they want to make it better. We work with all ages from lots of different parts of Rio.

What have the results been so far?

We’ve recruited 3 young people to Oi! Kabum as a result of the workshop. We also made a video evaluation with participants and got some really good feedback. People who didn’t know what their potential was but now know better after the workshop and like art more. In Madureira one of the communities we delivered the workshop in, people don’t have much access to art and it’s a good way for them to be connected.

What’s coming up?

We’re producing ‘Voice for the Heads’ at the moment [campaign with people wearing TVs] which is focusing on highlighting problems with sexual exploitation amongst children and young people during the world cup.

Then we’re planning to do a Festival of Kites in 3 favela communities which will explore the theme of child exploitation; giving advice on safety on the internet, workshops and talks for children and parents about the rights of the child. When it comes to issues of sexual exploitation, the people most affected are that least heard – children.                

  Photography credit - Ricardo Aleixo

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Whilst in the north east of Brasil, I spent a week in Pentecoste with ADEL, an organisation that encourages young people from the community that have graduated from university or finished school to apply their knowledge in the rural communities they live in rather than heading to bigger cities in the south of Brasil to find work.

It can be really difficult for young people to make a living in a town like Pentecoste, particularly in farming and agriculture which is the main industry for the area. It's incredibly hot here all year round. I woke up to temperatures of 26 or 27 degrees at 8am though it feels more like 40 degrees as it's such a scorching heat. And this is winter. I can't imagine what the summers are like here. It hasn't rained here in months and before that it hadn't rained in Pentecoste for 3 years! This has a big impact on the ability to live, let alone build a business here.

ADEL's award winning approach offers a tailored solution to young people in the community, helping them to set up sustainable enterprises which mean they can stay and make a living in their communities. 

There are 4 strands to their work and in upcoming blog posts, I'll be sharing what I discovered when I met entrepreneurs who have been supported by the project, and the team at ADEL that help them to turn their ideas into sustainable business.

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Two very different cities, two very different but beautiful churches. In fact the first photo is actually taken in Pentecoste, a tiny town 2 hours away from Fortaleza in the north east of Brasil and miles away in terms of distance and way of life from the second church which is in Largo do Machado in Rio.

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'Nem-nem' = 'NEET'

I recently discovered that there is an equivalent term to 'NEET' for young Brazilians aged between 18-25 who are not working or in education - 'nem-nem' (não trabalha nem estuda)

The equivalent in the UK for young people who aren't in education, employment and training is 'NEET' for those of you not in the know.