Unicamp hosts, virtually, the IV Congress of Black Researchers (Copene) from the Southeast region, which takes place between September 18th and 23rd, 2021. The event, entitled “Affirmative actions in Brazil: anti-racist nation project”, brings together activities in presentations of academic works, in addition to conferences, short courses, workshops and cultural activities. Registration for the Scientific Committee and for proposers of Thematic Sessions, workshops and short courses are now open. Submission of works begins in June.
Copene, an event spearheaded by the Brazilian Association of Black Researchers (ABPN), is a meeting point for black researchers, being both a scientific and academic space and a space for articulation. “It is a time for discussion, for debates about the production of knowledge linked to ethnic-racial issues, themes involving the black population and related themes”, points out Unicamp professor and general coordinator of IV Copene Sudeste, Debora Jeffrey.
Regional Copenes take place in each of the country's five regions, in odd-numbered years. The national Copene has taken place in even years, since the first event, in 2000. Due to the pandemic, the XI national Copene is also being held in 2021.
Affirmative actions under debate
The IV Copene Sudeste is titled “Affirmative actions in Brazil: project for an anti-racist nation”. The discussion about affirmative actions, points out Debora Jeffrey, takes on an urgent nature this year, given that the Quota Law (Law 12.711/2012) and the decree that regulates it (Decree 7.824/2012) should be revised in 2022, after 10 years of validity.
“There is a fear that, given the current political situation, there will be an attempt to revoke the decree and the quota law. The Copenes are responsible for bringing this debate to the public and producing documents and positions from black researchers in favor of maintaining and consolidating the quota law”, he states. The documents produced, he says, will be forwarded to public authorities.
For the teacher, there is an urgency for the debate to take place now. “We are not going to wait until 2022 for a mobilization to take place. The intention is to provoke these discussions and debates in 2021, so that this mobilization does not only happen when this matter comes up for discussion in Congress or is considered by the president”.
First Southeast Copene in the state of SP
It will be the first time that the state of São Paulo hosts Copene Sudeste. The fourth edition of the event is carried out by ABPN together with Unicamp, through the Executive Directorate of Human Rights and the Advisory Committee on Ethnic-Racial Diversity (Cader). Unicamp was chosen as the headquarters, according to Cleber Santos Viera, president of ABPN, due to its significant importance in Brazilian scientific production and the importance of the work that has been developed in bodies such as Cader. “The institution chosen was Unicamp, we all know its importance in scientific production in Brazil and it will certainly be another Unicamp after our Copene”, he said, on the occasion of the launch event of the IV Copene website, which discussed the 20 years of World Conference against Racism (watch below).
The president of ABPN, who is a professor at Unifesp, also highlighted that the anti-racist struggle has existed in Brazil since the first black man and woman fell into slavery, resisting the process of enslavement. “This is the process we now carry out within universitieses, showing that they will be more democratic and more diverse each time they incorporate into their functioning, their institutionality, their structure, a really and truly democratic agenda of what it means to be anti-racist”.
Agenda
The IV Copene Sudeste takes place from the 18th to the 23rd of September and has thematic sessions, short courses, workshops, conferences and cultural activities on the agenda. Furthermore, also encompassing concerns regarding basic, technological and professional education, IV Copene Sudeste houses the Permanent Basic Education Forum - Southeast Regional and the SIECTI Day (Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Symposium).
The opening conference, which will take place on the 18th at 10:30 am, will be given by professor Maria Alice Rezende Gonçalves (UERJ), with the same title as the event: “Affirmatives in Brazil: a project for an anti-racist nation”.
Check out the full schedule on the IV Copene Sudeste website: https://www.copenesudeste2021.abpn.org.br/
