Umbria and Brazil. A strong vigorous bond

Umbria and Brazil. A strong, vigorous bond of innovative collaboration between institutions, a passion for culture and shared values.

A bond inspired by the common vision of a “possible new world” of the first World Social Forum in Porto Alegre (in the year 2000) that has increasingly involved the Umbria Regional Authority in a response to requests for comparison and exchange arriving from Brazilian territories interested in understanding the experience of the Italian regions on the subject of local development. Thus, “Brasil Proximo” was created, the last and most important Programme of collaboration of the Italian Regions with the Brazilian Federal Government, for which the Umbria Regional Authority has acted as leader of Italo-Brazilian territorial partnerships on the topic of local economic development, SMEs, the cooperative movement and the economics of culture and social policies. A major Programme, under the guidance and technical coordination of Sviluppumbria S.p.A., which concluded in December 2015 and which managed to build a network of dialogue and international collaboration that took the dialogue way beyond the terms of the project. We also had a visit from Itama Silvar, Director of IBASE, the major NGO in Rio de Janeiro that conceived the World Social Forum and has been our partner in so many projects of social policies in the favelas in Rio. He wished to award the scholarships offered by the Umbria Regional Authority to the two young boys from the favela Santa Marta, who have been with us over the last two weeks to train with the Perugia and Ternana football teams.