The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) signed a R$10 million financing contract with a coalition of black organizations on Wednesday (28) to strengthen memory institutions in the territory of Pequena África, in the central region of Rio de Janeiro. The site is home to the Cais do Valongo archaeological site, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site and the main port of entry for enslaved Africans into Brazil.
The winning consortium is formed by the Center for the Articulation of Marginalized Populations (CEAP), PretaHub and Diaspora.Black. The BNDES contribution is being made through the Social Development and Public Management Area. The goal is for the total investment in the project, called Viva Pequena África, to reach R$20 million, with the remaining R$10 million being raised from donors.
The consortium will operate in five areas. The first involves an investment of R$11 million in cultural projects based on black cultural identity and creativity, training and strengthening of social organizations. The second, budgeted at R$2 million, focuses on the Viva Pequena África Cultural Exhibition and the creation of the Viva Pequena África Seal.
The third, with an investment of R$500,000, foresees the holding of the Viva Pequena África International Seminar on the valuation, protection and dissemination of cultural heritage. The fourth, with an investment of R$548,000, will focus on the systematization of social technologies developed by the community, creation of memories and new narratives of social empowerment. And the fifth, worth R$1.7 million, foresees the mapping of Afro-Brazilian memory territories and investment in local development projects.
“We are very happy to be part of this consortium and pioneering initiative, as it is an opportunity to highlight the importance of Little Africa not only as a place of memory and resistance, but also as a driver of sustainable economic development for the black population. With this initiative, we will consolidate the territory as the main Afrotourism destination in the world with the local community taking the lead,” said Antonio Pita, co-founder and COO of Diaspora.Black.
According to BNDES, the selection of the consortium had racial equity requirements and involved active listening to institutions and actors operating in the territory.
“This process was crucial to our decisions. In many interventions, even when aimed at historical recovery and valorization of urban space, the result was exclusion and gentrification, with the increase in the cost of living, the expulsion of former residents and the deepening of socio-spatial segregation. Precisely because the participation and empowerment of the groups present there was not sought. This is exactly what we want to avoid,” said Tereza Campello, BNDES’s Socio-Environmental Director.
The Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, celebrated the signing of the contract and the projects to preserve Afro-Brazilian memory.
“How many times have we had our memory erased and denied? And this is a region that has much to teach us. We are talking about a living memory that we need to cultivate. And a country that has no memory is doomed to make the same mistakes,” said the minister.
The territory of Pequena África is also included in a study structured by the BNDES Cities Solutions Area, delivered to the City of Rio in December 2023. The project includes the revitalization of areas of the “District of African Experience and Memory in Rio de Janeiro” and the conservation of the areas of the José Bonifácio Cultural Center, Cemitério dos Pretos Novos (IPN), Cais do Valongo and da Imperatriz, Jardins do Valongo, Largo do Depósito and Pedra do Sal.
During the event, BNDES signed an agreement to join the Movement for Racial Equality (Mover) and the Racial Equality Index in Companies (Iere), part of the Business Initiative for Racial Equality. The institution made ten commitments to racial equality and the implementation and expansion of actions to overcome racism and discrimination in the corporate environment.
