WHY BRAZIL?
Despite its history of economic boom and bust,
there is no doubt that Brazil is Latin America’s most influential
country, a global economic giant in its own right and one of the
world’s biggest democracies.
Brazil's natural resources, particularly iron
ore, are highly prized by major manufacturing nations, including
China. Thanks to the development of offshore fields, the
nation has become self-sufficient in oil, ending decades of
dependence on foreign producers. Brazil is the only country
in the world where you can simulataneously fill a car with Ethanol,
Petrol and Gas... all of this using Brazilian technology.
Brazil is also the first country in the world to have developed a
bio-fuel based on castor oil, again using Brazilian technology.
This will revolutionise the Northeast of the country, where castor
oil plants are weeds and Petrobrás is beginning to develop the
processing system. Petrobrás is the only company in the world with
all the technology needed for extracting petroleum from deep-sea
oil fields.
In the aviation industry, Brazil is the second
largest market for executive jets and helicopters and the U.S.A.
recognises the quality of Brazilian aeroplanes (produced by
Embraer) and will be purchasing highly specialised aircraft for
training their Air Force Pilots.
Brazil has a highly developed capital market which offers
numerous investment opportunities, along with a wide range of
services and products. The financial market is based on a modern
and solid banking system, a state-of-the-art payment system, and
reliable market infrastructure.
Despite its recent economic growth and success, there is still
great disparity between rich and poor. The cities of Rio de
Janeiro and São Paulo in particular have huge slum areas, known as
favelas, which are home to one third of the cities'
populations. How will Brazil, along with the rest
of the world, capture the energy of its recent success and ensure
there is enough of it to go round?
Read about Victor Bamigboye's experiences
in Brazil 2008
See more images of cultural immersion in
Rio de Janeiro
See more images of family life and
education in Fortaleza
The Brazil Fellows arrived in Rio on 17 July 2009. Below
is a snapshot of their experience...
"Never have I ever visited a favella before yesterday. Never
have I ever tried to samba dance before yesterday...we interviewed
the police chief of the favela. He was very frank with his
assesment of how drug trafficking is the root of most of the
community`s problems..."
read more
"In the afternoon we were wandering the streets of the town
and stumbled upon a Samba cafe. All the locals were jamming with
rustic instruments and a few of us got involved. Asia had some
serious rhythm and wowed the locals so much that the regulars began
recording her samba dancing. After we have had lessons we will
definitely return to show them how Britons really dance..."
read more
"Day 5 of our journey, and thanks to how well we and the
British Council have filled our days, we could go home tomorrow
feeling like we've experienced so much Brazil has to offer..."
read more
"In the afternoon we visited a favela which was eye
opening...the nursery was again very basic and they survived mainly
on donations but the kids were amazing and so lively..."
read more
"My favourite day, and for me the reason the Global
Fellowship exists at all, was when we visited Nos do Morro
(see picture, right), a community project in a favela in Rio de
Janeiro, which worked with theatre, dance, music, capoeira and
various other things... the pride and love by which the women
played was astounding. We had a Q&A with the founder about how
the project had progressed, and how difficult it had been to start
the project 23 years ago. It was clear they had impacted the lives
of those who lived in the favela so much that those who were
involved devoted their whole lives to the project..."
read more
"It was on the bus ride through a congested Rio that I
reflected on how art plays such an important role for children in
the favelas. When Cidade de Deus was released it brought the
stories of the favela onto a world stage, and this is still the
main image that many tourists have of Brazil..."
read more