The resistance continues

15th ceremony of the Colloquium closes today with passionate stories of Belo Monte and colourful samba show in Vai-Vai

XV Coloquio DH. Conectas. Encerramento

by Sarah Furtado and Fidel Forato*

After five days of robust activities, discussions and interchange of experiences, the 15th International Colloquium on Human Rights has come to an end on Friday, October 6, with a much awaited celebration at Vai-Vai, a traditional samba school located in downtown, São Paulo.

During the closing session, eighty activists from more than thirty countries stood in solidarity with Antônia Mendes, an advocate of Xingu Movement Alive for Always. Antônia, who lives in the state of Pará, told the participants about her defiance against the construction of Belo Monte hydroelectric dam and the account of restoration of the affected communities.

“Only through unity and alliance of people, from around the world, the pursuit of a life with dignity may come to its existence. And this is not impossible – you are a proof of that, “said Antônia. “We can’t always expect change to come from the above. It is us, united and organised, thoroughly and consciously capable of changing circumstances. It is our commitments; we are the greatest authority on this planet,” concluded Antônia.

At the end of the activity, a Vai-Vai veteran (known as Velha Guarda) walked the audience through the history of the school, the neighbourhood of Bixiga and the traditions of the Brazilian black community, and bade farewell to the participating activists with an authentic samba performance and later, with a taste of classic feijoada during the climatic luncheon.

15th

Colloquium

With the central theme “Human Rights: in crisis or transition?”, the colloquium proposed information exchange as the basis for forming alliance and delegating actions to ensure preservation of civil rights, social justice and equality. The discussions engendered the quest for practical and realistic solutions to circumvent possible scenarios of setbacks in human rights, concurrent nationally and internationally.

This year, Conectas organises the meeting with Forum Asia (Thailand), the Human Rights Centre of the University of Pretoria (South Africa) and Dejusticia (Colombia). The event is supported by Ford Foundation, OAK Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Channel Foundation and The Fund For Global Human Rights. We also thank the FGV (Fundação Getúlio Vargas), the Memorial of the Resistance, APAC (Associação Pinacoteca Arte e Cultura), the Immigration Museum and the government of the State of São Paulo, that generously provided with the venues for the meetings.

*Sarah Furtado and Fidel Forato are volunteer journalists from the collaborative coverage group of the 15th International Colloquium on Human Rights. English translation by Partha Sarker, a refugee from Bangladesh.