Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S., Antonio Patriota, Speaks at Harvard

Antonio Patriota, Brazilian Ambassador to the United States, visited Harvard on February 13th to participate in one of the Brazil Studies Program’s spring 2008 events. The Ambassador discussed U.S. – Brazil relations and the new role of Brazil in the global economy, Latin America as well as President Lula’s foreign policy.

Launch of Brazilian Film Series

The Brazil Studies Program launched a new film series that is co-sponsored by the student-run, Harvard Brazilian Organization. The series features both contemporary and classic Brazilian films depicting the country’s rich cinematic tradition and complex socio-economic and cultural realities. The films in this series were selected by the newly created Student Advisory Committee of the Brazil Studies Program.

Student Advisory Committee for Brazil Studies Program is Formed

In the spring semester of 2008, The Brazil Studies Program formed a Student Advisory Committee, co-chaired by Bruno Carvalho and Gabriel Rocha. The Committee is comprised of nine Harvard students from the University’s undergraduate and graduate schools. Student Advisors provide the Program with critical visibility across schools and disciplines. Their active engagement in group meetings, which take place once per semester, helps shape the Program’s agenda.

Aerosols in the Amazon Workshop, Manaus, Brazil

From February 18th to 22nd, 2008, Scot Martin (SEAS) hosted a workshop, “Aerosols in the Amazon - Changes and their Consequences from Past and Future Human Activities,” in the Brazilian Amazon. The goals of the international event – which brought together over 50 scientists, was supported by a DRCLAS faculty grant, and received field support from the Brazil Office – are to define research priorities, consider new research approaches, and address mechanisms for international collaboration, in particular to past and future changes arising from human activities, especially as tied to economic development plans for the region.

GSD Studios in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, Brazil

The Brazil Office hosted 25 students from two studios of the Graduate School of Design (GSD). "Near Future" brought a dozen GSD students to Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, with the purpose of creating a hypothetical 'monument to communication' that would allow Brasília to re-emerge as the site of today's architectural vanguard. "SP, 4 Operations," taught by GSD Visiting Professor Angelo Bucci, an award-winning Brazilian architect and faculty member of the University of São Paulo's (USP) School of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU), brought 13 GSD students to examine the relationships between buildings and topography in four sites in São Paulo's old and new downtown. Both studios coincided in São Paulo at a get-together at the Brazil Office on February 29, 2008 followed by a memorable meeting with Paulo Mendes da Rocha, 2006 Pritzker-prize winner.

Collaborative Research on Vertical Transmission of HIV in São Paulo, Brazil

In February 2008, Arachu Castro, Assistant Professor of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, traveled to Brazil as part of her collaborative work on the research project “Evaluation of Vertical Transmission of HIV in the State of São Paulo, Brazil.” The project is an epidemiological study of pregnant women diagnosed with HIV and their offspring born in the state of São Paulo in 2005. The objective of the study is to evaluate the magnitude of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) in São Paulo, to identify failures in the prevention of MTCT, and to strengthen the integration of prenatal care with the care for HIV and syphilis.

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