Carmen Bascarán Center for the Defense of Life and Human Rights – CDVCH / CB – Maranhão

Contribute to the fight against violations of fundamental rights, violence and social exclusion of young people in situation of social vulnerability through art and culture as a strategy to motivate leadership and social participation of youth as well as provide them with professional training to improve their opportunities to work as social educators or in the cultural sector.

Training course in human rights and in the art of African dance for socio-cultural educators.

Training course in human rights and in the art of capoeira for socio-cultural educators.

Mobilization and social awareness events on the rights of Black youth and on the fight against violence.

Presentation to the community about youth rights, institutionalized mechanisms of exclusion and alternatives to it.

Walk and distribution of information leaflets.

Seminar on violence against Black youth police officers, prisons agents, municipal agents, community leaders, etc.

Compared to other states of Brazil, Maranhão is the second to last in terms of development. Much of the population lives in poverty or in poverty threshold (26% live on less than US$2.6 per day). Illiteracy is still high (21.6% of the population over age 15 is illiterate) and the levels of violence and social inequality are marked. This reality is visible in the city of Açailândia, especially in Vila Ildemar. In this neighborhood, violence against and among young people is alarming. Every other day, one young person dies viciously in the neighborhood, often in cases related to drugs and/or gangs. Cases of violence and sexist murders of girls are also frequent, as well as prostitution, drug use and trafficking. All this happens in an environment where the police acts as a violent repressive agent.

Since 1999, the institution develops projects that promote socio-cultural activities as a means of social inclusion of young people through African dance and capoeira, as an alternative to violence and crime. Many of these young people find in art and culture a professional, more than just a leisure activity and end up working as educators or in the culture sector.

State Human Rights Council.
State Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents.
Municipal Forum for the Rights of the Child and Adolescent - DCA Forum - Açailândia / MA.
Olho Aberto para Não Virar Escravo National Campaign (coordinated by the Pastoral Land Commission - CPT).
Integrated Movement to Fight Slave Labor and State Commission for the Eradication of Slave Labor.