Brazil

In Brazil, Rooted in Trust is working to address the impacts of pandemic related information with IEB and Iepé in the States of Pará, Amapá and Roraima.

Amapá, Pará and Roraima in the North region of Brazil are the selected region for the RiT 2.0 due to low rates of vaccination. For perspective, in March 2022 the state of São Paulo had 86,58% of its population vaccinated, a much higher rate when compared to Roraima, which has 57,6%, Amapá with 57,43% and Pará, 71%. (Source: Mapa da vacinação contra COVID-19 no Brasil, G1).

Indigenous and Quilombola (Afro-Brazilians who reside in quilombos) communities are some of the most vulnerable in the country in rural areas of northern and northeastern Brazil. These populations have poor access to both information and health services and have faced great danger during the pandemic. Black youth in Brazil are four times as likely to die from COVID-19 than their white counterparts.

We are working alongside:

The International Institute of Education of Brazil (IEB) is a Brazilian non-profit association founded in 1998 with the mission to strengthen social actors and their roles in building a fairer and more sustainable society. The IEB is widely recognized on a national level for its dedication to trainings and strengthening organizations in various aspects and topics related to the environment, development, and sustainability.

Iepé stands for Indigenous Research and Training Institute, a non-profit organization that operates with different approaches, given the diversity of indigenous peoples, history, and surrounding regional context. Its main lines of action concern the promotion of territorial management, training and strengthening of indigenous organizations, cultural appreciation, and indigenous ways of life. Iepé has 4 offices (São Paulo, Macapá, Oiapoque and Santarém) and a multidisciplinary team that works closely with these communities, their representatives, and indigenous organizations, with a perspective that values their cultures and languages, as well as good practices and traditional knowledge.

RiT Brazil is developing a stakeholder engagement network, with the participation of Internews, different local and international NGOs, international organizations and civil society leaders since the beginning of February 2022. In the same month, a media and communicator local group network was created, with media agencies and communicators from the Northen region of Brazil.

Bilateral meetings are continuously held to expand stakeholder engagement and the media network of the project. There are two WhatsApp groups to engage with Internews bulletins and snapshots with the stakeholder network and the local media network.

The team has had initial meetings with UNICEF Roraima, the Brazilian Red Cross in Pará, CEDENPA (Center of Studies and Defense of Black People in Pará), Institute Peabiru, and Purpose. These dialogues were positive and led to further participation of Internews in meetings and to the inclusion of these partners in the network.

If you’re interested in learning more about the WhatsApp group, please get in touch with Samilly Valadares, Community Engagement Officer, ([email protected]) or Isadora Starling, Project Manager ([email protected]).