Brazil 02.09.2010 - 17.09.2010

Meeting: 12:00 at the Hostel

Once we have deposited our bags at our accomodation and refreshed ourselves, we are welcomed by a surprise.
At dinner we meet up with Brazilian students who will tell us about their life and help us to get rapidly acquainted to the new environment.

On our way to the Swiss colony Nova Friburgo we stop at the former residence of the Brazilian empire in Petropolis. Learning about Brazil's past will enable us to understand many of the contemporary debates that we are going to be confronted with.
In Nova Friburgo we will be informed about Swiss migration and encounter interesting personalities that settled in Brazil just recently, or already a long time ago.

In 2007, Brazil discovered along its coastline a huge oil field in more than 7000 meters below sea level. We meet representatives of the Brazilian oil industry and experts in the sector in order to learn about the world famous drilling technology used by the state-owned company Petrobras. We will discuss the possibilities of exploiting these reserves and what this would mean for the country as a whole.
A visit to a NGO in this area will confront us with possible environmental and social externalities involved.

An encounter with members of the Brazilian police and/or armed forces gives us a deep insight into the situation of security and organized crime in Rio de Janeiro, as well as its meaning on the national level.
While visiting an aid project in a poor neighborhood we learn what is done to prevent youth getting involved in the drug business and which perspective of life can be given to them.

Flight to Brasília in the evening.

An accompanied tour enables us to discover the architecture of the capital city, Brasília, which is closely connected with the political system of Brazil. Constructed under President Juscelino Kubitschek by world famous architect Oscar Niemeyer, the city is home to practically all the federal institutions.
Meetings with politicians from different parties, current and former government representatives, as well as experts in different fields, will give you the possibility to get answers to many of the questions burning on your tongue.

A key element of Brazil's recent economic development is the Plano Real, the highly successful currency reform from 1994. During the visit to the Brazilian Central Bank, light will be shed on the question how, suddenly, inflation was brought under control.

We are working on an evening program, possibly a podium discussion. We will soon inform you about more details.

Flight to Rio de Janeiro in the morning.

The bus picks us up at the airport and drops us off at Angra dos Reis where we board the ferryboat to Ilha Grande.
The rest of the day you may enjoy the calm and exotic charm of one of the last corners entirely covered by Atlantic Rainforest by lying in a hammock, drinking Caipirinha or basking in the sun and surfing at a paradisiacal beach.
After dinner we will get a short introduction to sustainable tourism and how it is implemented on Ilha Grande.

A hike to the other side of the island on the cobble stone path, constructed by former prisoners, takes us to Praia Dois Rios where we can glance and explore what is left of the Instituto Penal Candido Mendes, a penitentiary run feared until 1993. The Caldeirão do Diablo, the devil's pot, is an important place of Brazilian history and the development of organized crime.
Before the boat takes us back to the village, you have enough time to enjoy one of Brazil's ten most beautiful beaches, Praia Lopes Mendes.

We will return to Angra dos Reis by ferry boat and drive along the coastline toward São Paulo. We stop in Paraty for lunch and have a short walk through the beautiful and extremely well preserved colonial town.
We spend the end of the afternoon and evening with an indigenous community where we learn about its situation 500 years after European discovery. What are the threats to its existence and what projects are undertaken to strengthen and preserve its way of living?

After traversing the Serra do Mar, we will have a closer look at the meeting place of urban and rural areas. Our focus lies on the impacts on environment such as deforestation caused by a growing population and urbanization.
Upon arrival in São Paulo around lunchtime we head to our hostel located in Vila Madalena, a trendy neighborhood with lots of options for nightlife. The afternoon is at your disposal in order to rest and prepare for the long night to come.
We will start our evening program by dining with Brazilian friends and continue with them to one of São Paulo's innumerous clubs.

After relaxing and sleeping in, we discover the immense labyrinth of steel and concrete on a city tour on which we learn about different aspects of urban planning. The observation of traffic during rush hour will not only give you an overview of the causes and consequences of traffic jam, but will help you to better understand the city as a whole.

Brazil, similar to Switzerland, is called a water castle, which means it plays an important role in water supply not only on a regional, but also on a global level. Rio Tiete and Rio Pinheiros which traverse São Paulo have been almost totally damaged by sewage and industrial waste. We will visit the Project Tiete that has been running for some time now and aims at cleaning the river.
In the afternoon we will find out what flying rivers are all about, what function they have and how the destruction of the Amazonian rainforests affects them.

Due to the bad quality of drinking water, Brazilians have no other choice than buying water bottles. We will meet representatives of both parties and discuss the pros and cons of privatizing water resources.
In the afternoon you may explore the many different facets of São Paulo on your own initiative.

Together with work inspectors we will visit a sugarcane plantation and see if the working conditions are the way they should be. We may possibly visit the accommodations of the workers and can thereby discover more about themselves. A visit to the sugar cane mill and explications about the production of fuel ethanol help us to get a global picture of the industry.
An encounter with representatives of the Movimento sem Terra, Brazil's landless movement deepens our understanding of the issue. You will learn about the objectives, instruments and history of the movement in regard of the structure of land ownership and the lack of a land reform.

We will encounter either with specialists who are familiar with the Brazilian stock exchange, visit entrepreneurs active in microfinance or meet a company who is working with the poor.
The rest of the day you may undertake whatever you still wanted to do in Brazil before leaving back home. We are happy to assist you in making your wish come true.

After a short debriefing it is time to say goodbye.
Detailed information about the transport from and to the airport(s) can be found on the website regarding the application to this trip.

End: 12:00 at the Hostel