JU - The State government's recent relationship with the academic community has been tumultuous, with threats of cuts to institutions' budgets, which required great mobilization to avoid measures that, if approved, would put teaching and research activities at risk. In your opinion, how should the rectory behave in the face of these threats and what is its policy on interaction with the state government?
Tom Joe - The solution to this complex problem lies in a more assertive political position external to Unicamp and an improvement in the University's communication flows with society. It is indisputable that today there is a position on the part of some political authorities within the executive, but also the legislative, judiciary and control bodies, that is contrary to, and even hostile in some cases, towards public universities in São Paulo. This position has been constructed in part due to a lack of knowledge of the diversity and importance of the activities carried out by public universities.
In the opposite and hostile position there are also ideological motivations and private interests that would like the State to minimize its activities in the areas of education, health and scientific research. This was the case with the establishment of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) by the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo (Alesp) to investigate suspected irregularities in the management of public universities in São Paulo, which ended with the preparation of a fragile and inconsistent report, which also shows a high lack of knowledge by part of state deputies on the role, relevance and challenges of public, free and quality universities.
One of the biggest damages of distorted or limited information is what contributes to a portion of the media and society in general forming a distorted or mistaken opinion about the public university. It is necessary to broaden the understanding of citizens, who finance the university, about the importance that public universities and research institutes have in their lives. Therefore, as proposed by our management program “Unicamp: building tomorrow” It is essential to build bridges with society and improve the flow of external communication.
Some of the proposals included in our program are: a) taking Unicamp radio and TV to a new level of protagonism, as relevant institutional partners for the dissemination of content; b) improve the dissemination and scientific dissemination of ongoing research at Unicamp, in all areas of knowledge; c) offer content of a denser cultural, socioeconomic and political nature, with the participation of members of the University and social agents (decision-making bodies, social movements, scientific entities, artists, etc.); d) create the “Get to Know Unicamp” program to disseminate information about the University’s activities, with brief interviews with Unicamp professors about academic research and its interest for society; e) make institutional media accessible to the visually and hearing impaired.
In the same line of argument, Unicamp should expand communication on social networks, including the Unicamp Portal and tools such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube, to: a) publish periodic clippings on cultural and academic events, as well as University research for different audiences; b) facilitate access to all Unicamp online collections; c) improve the dissemination of university extension courses, services and joint actions, through short promotional videos and other resources; d) create the podcast “Unicamp explica”, covering topics of general interest such as health, climate, food, culture, human rights, etc.; e) carry out research regarding the social perception of Unicamp, as a basis for improving our communication policy.
Furthermore, it will be necessary to promote communication through actions in physical spaces, such as a) encouraging the inclusion of University matters in local and regional press vehicles, based on actions integrated with society; b) periodically hold artistic events for the general public on Unicamp campuses, in partnership with the region's City Halls, or with other public and private bodies: theater, concerts and exhibitions, possibly taking advantage of the University's public spaces; c) create the “Science around the world” program to develop integrated scientific dissemination methods, focusing on Unicamp’s interinstitutional partnerships; d) create, in partnership with Comvest, the “Unicamp in public schools” program, aiming to take Unicamp students graduating from public education to conversations in schools in the Campinas region; e) develop the “Unicamp na Rua” project, which will seek to take teachers and students to strategic points in the Campinas region, to disseminate knowledge produced at Unicamp to society, as well as listen to people about their demands and how the University can contribute to serve them; f) strengthen partnerships and communication with different segments of society: public authorities, media, business, scientific societies, social movements, educational sector, health bodies and international organizations.
In a period of prolonged economic crisis in the country with negative impacts on public accounts, which are reflected in tax and fiscal difficulties, it is natural that the dispute over public resources between different segments of society will intensify. It is within this context that the threats of loss of university autonomy and/or cuts in the already tight budget of public universities must be understood, which involve the significant amount of resources of 9,57% of the State of São Paulo's share of the ICMS. And there are other risks and threats just as important, such as an imminent tax reform, which should merge the ICMS with other indirect taxes, which will bring to the university the need to ensure transition mechanisms for its financing, without the loss of university autonomy. . These are political challenges that will demand a much more assertive position from the public university.
Therefore, greater dialogue with political actors and society as a whole is essential. As analyzed in our program, Unicamp has, in its organizational chart, the São Paulo Office, subordinate to the Rector's Office. In the times we live in, in which public universities - including state universities in São Paulo - suffer attacks, often based on misinformation and a misunderstanding of our activities, it is essential that we make use of institutional channels to improve communication with public representatives. We must value the role of the São Paulo Office, creating more effective conditions for contact, discussion and dissemination of the university's activities, with a focus on the highest level public and business sector. We will also study the possibility of creating a similar office in Brasília, with a view to the same ideas of valuing Unicamp, but within the political community and the federal public sector.
In short, it is essential to convey to society that the public University of São Paulo is part of the solution, not the problem, for the social, economic and scientific development of the State and Brazil.
Mario Saad - Our policy regarding threats and also interaction with the state government will be the same towards our internal community and all other segments of society, that is, dialogue. We cannot, while occupying the position of representatives of a public institution the size of Unicamp, close ourselves off from dialogue with anyone, no matter how difficult this dialogue may appear. Unfortunately, Unicamp has reaped bitter fruits resulting from its lack of interaction with sectors that many consider intractable or incommunicable. As we said before: when we stop occupying certain spaces, others take our place and our right to position ourselves. The political activity of a rector (understand the term derived from the Greek politiké) should never be confused with party political or ideological action.
Sergio Salles-Filho - It is important to anticipate potential crises and attacks from various government bodies (and from outside the government). And this must be done institutionally, with personnel trained in training and systematically, not sporadically or just in a defensive attitude.
In our Management Program, one of the 13 themes is exactly the coordination with government levels and control bodies with the aim of having institutional channels of communication and interaction.
Unicamp has and has had several isolated initiatives, some successful, others not so much. It is essential to have communication channels that allow us to monitor actions, prevent attacks, reduce threats and expand Unicamp's presence in the formulation and implementation of public policies. We have a lot to address and this depends on proactive actions on our part.
Permanent investment and attention are necessary for Unicamp to be part of relevant debates and thus identify risks and challenges, as well as opportunities to build intersections between Unicamp's strategic interests and the agendas that are the subject of attention from members of the state legislature and executive. , municipal and federal.
By carefully observing the recent tumultuous relations and their developments, testimonies at the CPIs and visits by parliamentarians, we realized that Unicamp's activities are largely unknown to several political representatives from the state, the metropolitan region of Campinas and even the cities in which Unicamp has campuses. . We need to open Unicamp's doors wider to different segments of society, including parliamentarians and government agents.
We will invest in the creation and consolidation of an Institutional Relations Office whose function will be to create, maintain and develop communication and interaction channels with different levels of government.
We can give concrete examples of short and medium-term preventive actions. The Covid-19 pandemic will leave many people dependent on therapeutic treatments and with financial difficulties, with a possible worsening of crises. We must anticipate likely attacks on the public sector, which was shielded from many of these consequences, whether by having the possibility of remote work or by maintaining their salaries.
We have to plan constructive approaches to avoid animosity from parliamentarians and populist governments, systematically describing and presenting all activities carried out during the pandemic. To achieve this, it is necessary to have targeted communication and marketing planning, which involves strengthening the Unicamp name, increasing the use of social networks and disseminating indicators and data that reveal the different contributions we make to society.
Another clear example of the need to have consistent institutional dialogue with public authorities is related to the tax and administrative reforms currently under discussion and which will have an important impact on people and the entire University. Unicamp needs to be in the discussions, participate in debates, formulations, create scenarios and design solutions for a situation that we are unaware of but that we know will be impactful.
In short, our management will implement, with the human resources we have, with appropriate training, constant mobilization to avoid measures that put the Unicamp institution at risk.
