8 Short Videos on the Brazilian Blueprint & Boosting Civic Engagement
The United States has the opportunity to reinvigorate civic engagement, promote social cohesion, and create a shared vision of a future where everyone has the opportunity to thrive without exception.
To make that happen, there are important lessons we can learn from outside our own borders, particularly Brazil. Brazil offers valuable examples of hard-won experience in democratic resilience, civic mobilization, and recovery from backsliding.
Hear how this project began, how it's going, and what comes next:
In this opening segment of the Brazilian Blueprint webinar, Stories Change Power’s core team of Amy Swers, Senior Advisor of International Strategy; Piper Hendricks, CEO; and Sheila Maloney, Director of the Brazilian Blueprint, share the inspiration behind this initiative and the importance of looking beyond U.S. borders for solutions.
Aditi Juneja of Democracy 2076 shares how looking beyond Brazil’s laws, policies, and democratic institutions revealed deeper questions about what it takes to sustain democracy. Hear you share why democracy isn’t sustained by laws and institutions alone; it depends on culture, relationships, organizing, and the everyday choices of ordinary people.
Changing our trajectory requires changing the stories we tell, reclaiming the values we share, and building movements that we can sustain for the long haul. In this segment, Rodolfo Cordova of the Metropolitan Group underscores the power of narrative and the importance of sustaining long-term civic engagement. He discusses: 1) The battle over values; 2) The power of joy; 3) The long game of democracy; and 4) The next generation.
Rev. Rodney S. Sadler, Jr. PhD, shares his observations about the intersection of race, religion, and democracy in Brazil and the lessons they offer U.S. leaders. Rodney explores: 1) Race and identity; 2) Democratic innovation; 3) Faith and politics; and 4) Imagination, namely how differences in Brazil’s experience invite us to imagine more responsive systems of governance.
What happens when the institutions designed to protect democracy begin to weaken? Peter Pattakos, a civil rights lawyer in Ohio, shares how Brazil highlighted connections between judicial accountability, a free press, and democratic participation. Peter notes: 1) The importance of an independent press; 2) elements of Brazil’s younger (1988) Constitution, including restrictions on corporate campaign financing, public election funding, and equal campaign airtime; 3) The power of democratic identity; and 4) The challenges of the digital information environment.
Krystal Lindsey, founder of the EDvocate Group, sums up so much: “I went there to understand their democracy, and I saw ours, too.” In sharing how firsthand experience in Brazil shifted how she thinks about civic engagement, education, research, and the power of interdisciplinary collaboration, Krystal discusses: 1) The value of diverse perspectives; 2) Learning through experience; 3) Education and technology; 4) Building lasting connections; and 5) The power of storytelling.
Can lessons from Brazil help strengthen democracy and civic engagement in the United States? If you’ve made it this far down the page, you already know the answer is YES!!!
For Stories Change Power, the Brazilian Blueprint is just getting started.
Future learning communities will focus on:
Strengthening messaging and narrative strategy: Developing strategic communications skills, particularly use of digital and social media, to advance democratic values
Promoting social cohesion: Finding ways to bridge divides, reduce polarization, and strengthen civic relationships, including by combating dis- and misinformation that undermine public trust and civic participation.
Building “civic muscle:” promoting widespread and sustained civic engagement, including healthy communication between elected officials and the people they represent.
In this closing segment, Sheila Maloney leads a candid conversation with the delegates about what surprised them, challenged their assumptions, and changed how they think about democracy in Brazil and the United States.
This final exchange reinforces one of the Brazilian Blueprint’s central lessons:
Democracy is not a finished product.
If you have questions, are interested in partnering, or would like to support this work, we’d love to hear from you.
