Abstract
In this paper, I discuss some of the processes that characterized the creation and consolidation of the University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (Unilab) in Bahia, as part of the expansion project of public higher education in Brazil that was implemented during the Lula presidency (2003–2010) and defined in the government’s internationalization and regionalization project. To this end, I reviewed the literature and institutional documents from the past four years and analyzed observations of daily campus life. I highlight some challenges as well as possibilities for young international students, particularly young Africans from the five Portuguese-speaking countries, and for Brazilian nationals, too, which arise from the implementation of this public higher education expansion program in the Recôncavo Baiano region. Finally, I conclude with observations about the cultural diversity and social reality inherent to the context and discuss the conceptual and practical challenges and possibilities arising from that intercultural reality.
Highlights
This academic essay aims to review some of the processes that characterize the founding and consolidation of the University of International Integration of the Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB), the creation of the Campus dos Malês, in the Brazilian state of Bahia.1 The harbor of our arrival is the city of São Francisco do Conde, located in the region known as “RecôncavoBaiano”2
The Recôncavo Baiano was the gate of entrance for thousands of Africans coming to the region as slaves from several places in the African continent, from the 16th to the mid-19th centuries
The Campus dos Malês is located in São Francisco do Conde (35,000 inhabitants), one of Brazilian municipalities with the highest percentage of black people, which is situated in the Recôncavo Baiano area, something unusual in many ways! the Campus dos Malês was established 650 miles away from UNILABs headquarters, located in the “Maciço do Baturité” (Baturite Mountains), in the Ceará state
Summary
This academic essay aims to review some of the processes that characterize the founding and consolidation of the University of International Integration of the Afro-Brazilian Lusophony (UNILAB), the creation of the Campus dos Malês, in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The harbor of our arrival is the city of São Francisco do Conde, located in the region known as “Recôncavo. Such memories were powerful, emerging during the arrival of young African men and women from the five African countries that have Portuguese as their official language (known by the Portuguese abbreviation of PALOPs).4 For many of these young students, arriving in Brazilian territory means a movement of historical redemption in comparison to their ancestors during the slave ships period. Art. 8: The objective of UNILAB is to provide higher education, develop research in the diverse fields of knowledge, and promote the university extension, having as its specific institutional mission to train human resources in order to contribute to the integration between Brazil and the other countries participating in the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), in particular the African countries, as well as promote regional development, and cultural, scientific and educational exchange. The vibrant enchantment of those who have been able to share this ambitious project was sparkling in the eyes of those present on the day the campus was inaugurated
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