The dean of Unicamp Marcelo Knobel met with the dean of Faculdade Zumbi dos Palmares José Vicente this Thursday afternoon (28) to discuss common demands, all towards greater inclusion of black students. It was agreed that both will meet again soon to sign a cooperation agreement along these lines. In addition to the deans, professors Daniella Gatti, advisor to the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (PRG), and Ana Maria de Almeida, deputy coordinator of the Unicamp Entrance Exam Commission (Comvest), participated in the meeting.
Faculdade Zumbi dos Palmares is the first higher education institution focused on the inclusion of black students in Latin America, with 90% of its clientele made up of this public. Unicamp also has important initiatives along these lines of guaranteeing black students' access to the University, mainly through its affirmative action programs. “We need to move forward on this issue. There is a lack of mobility in Brazil in this regard", stated Marcelo Knobel. He also reinforced that he intends to help in whatever way is necessary and that Unicamp is studying the possibility of formatting a postgraduate course in the area of ethnic-racial relations. "The idea is expand access to postgraduate studies", he said.
The dean of Zumbi dos Palmares commented that this is a great partnership opportunity, as Brazil currently has 800 young black people in its universities. “We now have the challenge of placing 800 thousand 'Joaquins Barbosas' in the job market. With graduation and postgraduate studies, these boys will be ready to migrate to the corporate environment. We count on the support of Unicamp.”
José Vicente also announced that the rector of Unicamp will receive next month the Black Race Trophy from the NGO Afrobras, in partnership with Faculdade Zumbi dos Palmares, a distinction for people involved in combating prejudice, intolerance and discrimination. He also took the opportunity to invite the Unicamp community to participate in the FlinkSampa, from November 16th to 18th, at the headquarters of Faculdade Zumbi dos Palmares, with the presence of renowned national and international writers, cinema and arts professionals. See some actions by Zumbi dos Palmares on Afrobras Portal.
