By Monica C. Ribeiro
A space for meeting and welcoming, for reflections on the transformative power of socio-environmental justice philanthropy and new possible arrangements to promote access to socio-environmental, human and social justice rights
This translates into the Philanthropy, Social Justice, Civil Society and Democracy Seminar, held on September 20th and 21st, in São Paulo.
In addition to the main theme, which gave the event its name, topics such as decolonial philanthropy, trust and new arrangements were discussed, aiming at horizons that translate into changing power relations and fostering a less unequal and less racist society.
Designed to celebrate ten years of the Philanthropy Network for Social Justice - which now has a new name, Rede Comuá - Philanthropy that transforms -, the event was the first, post-pandemic, to bring together members of the funds in large numbers member of the Network, together with Private Social Investment actors, civil society organizations, financiers and the interested public.
In 21 hours of activity, in which more than 50 speakers shared their reflections with the public, 220 participants were engaged in person and 360 people virtually. More than 110 organizations participated in the event.
Ten years of resistance and achievements
Held 12 days before the first round of elections, the seminar was also a place to celebrate resistance and strengthening:
“Maybe, I think for all of us, the last four years have been the most difficult, as people in this field. Not only did we have the covid-19 epidemic, but a government that has acted against civil society since the beginning, and our reason for being is the strengthening of rights and civil society. As social justice organizations we have had to change our strategies very quickly. We were placed in a position of resistance in almost 100% of our time. We always resisted, but we resisted and moved forward. In the last four years we have been nothing but resistance. It's a difficult place, because we want more, we want more rights, society needs more rights. And being there, wiping away the ice from rights already won, was not easy. But I am sure that without the Network organizations and others, we would not have resisted”, analyzes Ana Toni, from iCS (Instituto Clima e Sociedade).
For Ana Valéria Araújo, from the Brazilian Human Rights Fund, the Network celebrates a new moment in its trajectory. It began its activities as a group of six young funds and foundations, which came together to exchange experiences, learnings and face challenges of this new way of doing philanthropy, innovative and non-existent in Brazil, and became a relevant actor within the field of philanthropy itself. philanthropy.
“The common foundation of this group that was at the founding of the Network was the recognition that we had to work mainly with donations. Donate to those who were doing it at the end and not do it ourselves. And as such we were also innovative. Because this group and the Network began to produce knowledge about what it was like to support, what it was for, how relevant it was to do it and how to do it. This idea was extremely innovative, it brought us together and it meant that the Network could begin to serve as a reference, to become a relevant actor within the field of philanthropy itself and to dialogue with other actors in the field of private social investment, bringing this agenda of grantmaking, donation, and how to do it in a different way. What the Network is doing today is to guide, create incentives for others to do something similar, so that philanthropy can transform and join our way of doing things.”
Knowledge that transforms
The Network presented its new knowledge production program, Saberes, and the first seven scholarship holders, selected from 27 proposals received. The initiative offers grants for the systematization of knowledge produced by social leaders and experts working in the field.
At the end of the Program, the materials produced will be disseminated through the Network's channels to strengthen the impact on the philanthropic ecosystem, a subsidy to increase the visibility of the experiences covered by the fellows and to facilitate the understanding of the forms and concepts of philanthropy within communities and territories.
>> To find out more, Read the text written by Luisa Hernandes and Jonathas Azevedo.
Also during the seminar, the main findings of the mapping of independent donor organizations in the areas of social justice and community development in the country.
The survey was carried out by Rede in partnership with PonteAponte, and mapped 31 organizations in 11 Brazilian states. Of these, 58% are located in the Southeast region, 23% in the North region, 13% in the Northeast region and the South and Central-West region each have 3% organizations.
In common, the donations made by the mapped organizations are based on the idea that the use of resources and the decision-making power over them are the responsibility of the organizations and groups that receive the donations, with them having a leading role in their actions.
The mapping expands the knowledge we have about this type of philanthropy in Brazil, its practices and contribution to social justice.
The contents related to the seminar will soon be shared on our networks.
New way of presenting yourself to the world
The seminar also marked a change in the visual and nominal identity of the Network, which now presents itself as Rede Comuá – Philanthropy that transforms.
The new name and visual identity were co-created by the Network in partnership with FutureBrand SP in a very collaborative and careful way, seeking to reflect the Network's values and mission of promoting socio-environmental justice for the common good.
It reflects the performance of each fund and foundation that is part of the network in the sum of the common and brings the signature and the way of doing philanthropy that the network believes in and promotes: which transforms. Which is an agent that enhances the transformation carried out by civil society organizations at the base.
In the coming months, our website and social networks will undergo a transition to adopt this new way of presenting ourselves to the world.
