I am writing this travel log from the airplane leaving Sweden and heading to Germany. After an intense schedule in Stockholm, we are moving on to the next phase of our mission at the G20 Favelas, the global favela conferences. My name is Marcus Vinícius, and along with my father, Celso Athayde, founder of CUFA, we are traveling to various countries to hold conferences on the realities of favelas. This journey will last over 15 days, and I will be sharing every moment of this travel log on the official G20 Favelas blog.
Our first stop was Sweden, where we had the opportunity to visit one of the favelas in the Stockholm region, Rinkeby. Accompanied by Luiz, president of CUFA Sweden, Bruno, vice president, and Amanda, one of the members of the institution, we visited this community formed mostly by immigrants from the Middle East and Africa. Luiz, Bruno, and Amanda were with us in all the meetings and were fundamental to the success of our stay in Sweden. They are incredible and dedicated to the work they do.
The visit to Rinkeby was an important point in our journey. The community faces challenges like violence and inequality, but we also found local institutions committed to creating solutions that promote inclusion and safety for residents. We learned a lot about how these institutions have worked to reduce issues and integrate the community. This exchange of experiences will be essential to expanding the impact of CUFA’s work in other parts of the world.
On the same day, we visited the Brazilian Embassy in Sweden, where we reaffirmed CUFA Sweden’s plans and its projects focused on the local population. These projects, which will soon be presented to the mayor of Stockholm, have the potential to strengthen CUFA’s actions in the country, contributing to social inclusion and the economic development of Swedish favelas.
This morning, we had a meeting with one of Spotify’s global directors. It was a very productive meeting where we discussed a global music project for favelas. While I can’t share too many details yet, I can say that this project will be a game-changer for young talents from favelas around the world, connecting them to opportunities in the global music scene. The partnership with Spotify is a great achievement and an important step in expanding the visibility of favela artists.
We concluded our stay in Sweden with the Stockholm favela conference, which was a huge success. We had representatives from various sectors of society, including community leaders, entrepreneurs, and local authorities. The exchange of ideas was enriching, and every participant was committed to finding joint solutions to the problems faced by favelas, not just in Sweden, but around the world.
One of the big lessons from this phase was realizing how, even in a country with a high standard of living like Sweden, favelas still exist and face significant challenges. The global favela conferences have shown us the urgency of addressing this issue on a global scale, and solidarity among nations has been essential in finding lasting solutions.
Now, we are heading to Germany, where we will continue our mission of holding conferences, listening to local demands, and sharing our experiences. All the content generated during this journey will be systematized by the London School of Economics and, at the end, delivered directly to the heads of state present at the G20 Social. We are confident that this material will be a powerful tool for driving concrete changes in favelas around the world.
And, of course, this journey wouldn’t be possible without the dedication and support of people like Luiz, Bruno, Amanda, and many others, who have been great pillars of CUFA in Sweden! But now, it’s time to go, the plane is about to land in Germany, and the journey continues!
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