Brazilian students bring untold African and indigenous stories to Portugal | Education

The articles from the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.

Free access: download the PÚBLICO Brasil app on Android or iOS.

The expectation is enormous. A group of 113 Brazilian students and 12 teachers, most of them, boarded a plane for the first time and, also for the first time, crossed the Atlantic Ocean. They arrive this Friday (15/11) in Portugal through an exchange project in which they will deal, among other topics, with African and indigenous heritage in public schools. The young people and teachers come from 12 cities in the states of Bahia, Pernambuco and São Paulo.

Everyone was selected to spend 10 days in Lisbon through the project Once upon a time…Brazilwhich retells the history of Brazil. In the classrooms, points not shown in textbooks are presented, highlighting the importance of African and indigenous peoples in the historical construction of the country. The voices of protagonists who, for years, have been outside traditional education are highlighted.

The program, which is in its eighth edition, is aimed at history students and teachers in the eighth year of the municipal public education network. This year, the thematic focus is More than Ipiranga: the independence of other Brazils. Students and teachers from the cities of João Ramalho, Lençóis Paulista, Macatuba, Quatá, Rancharia, Ribeirão Preto and Serrana, in São Paulo, are on this journey; Recife and Belo Jardim, from Pernambuco; and Salvador, Mata de São João and Jacobina, from Bahia.

Says Marici Vila, executive director of Origem Produções, director of the project: “Much anticipated by students, the trip is one of the most fundamental stages of the Once Upon a Time…Brazil. The possibility of experiencing another country, getting to know another culture, seeing a side of their origins up close, traveling paths that they have only seen in books and, above all, being able to exchange experiences with other young people is something very remarkable for students”.

Exchange of experiences

In the opinion of students and teachers, the exchange, much more than a tourist trip to Europe, means the continuity of a pedagogical process that began with the schools’ academic year and continued to develop throughout the year. Therefore, adds Marici, the trip crowns the four-step process of a program of educational, artistic and cultural activities. In Portugal, there will be 10 days of experiences, visiting museums, monuments and emblematic places in Lisbon, important for the history of Brazil, and discussing the colonization process.

Through the program, the group will visit Portuguese schools. Young people will have the opportunity to exchange information directly with Portuguese students and teachers about regional cultural aspects of Brazil. The Brazilian boys will also present what they produced during the project stages: 28 short films and a book of 100 comics written and illustrated by them.

Since its creation eight years ago, the Once Upon a Time…Brazil has already benefited more than 17,800 teenagers from 487 public schools in 32 municipalities in Bahia, Ceará, Pernambuco, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In 2024, more than 4,800 students signed up across the country to compete for a place. The project is supported by the Federal Culture Incentive Law, the Ministry of Culture, the Federal Government and private companies.