Brazil-Africa: Crossed Histories Programme

The essence of the Brazil-Africa: Crossed Stories programme is to promote African history and cultures to transform relations between the different racial groups that coexist in the country. 

This ambitious Programme was established as a partnership with the Ministry of Education in Brazil and UNESCO Brasiliain 2003, following the approval of the National Law 10.639, which advocates teaching these subjects in classrooms throughout Brazil. Although this Programme stopped in 2013, its actions have been active due to its relevance as the process of implementing the Law on Education of Racial-Ethnic Relations in the Brazilian educational system has been very challenging, including the need for developing a culture in the school environment and a new pedagogical practice that recognizes the ethnic and racial differences stemmed from the Brazilian society development. To contribute to this process, this Programme encompassed three strategic, complementary and fundamental hubs:

• Monitoring the implementation of the Law
• Production and dissemination of information on the history of Africa and of the African-Brazilian people
• Advising on public policy development

This action intended to identify critical issues, progress and challenges concerning the implementation of the Law, as well as to cooperate in the development of strategies for carrying out public policies accordingly, besides systematizing, producing, and spreading knowledge on the history and culture of Africa and of the African-Brazilian people, using supporting the changes proposed by the legislation.

For UNESCO to support the implementation of the Law on Education of Racial-Ethnic Relations has been a way to strengthen the African identity, memory, and culture in Brazil - the country with the largest population originating from the African diaspora.

Once the role of African origins in the development of Brazilian society is known and recognized, and exchanges between both are disseminated, essential channels for respecting differences and fighting against various forms of discrimination will open, as well as for rescuing self-esteem and building the population's identity. Together, these channels will contribute to the development of the country.
Therefore, working with these topics in schools and in school systems proposed by the national legislation ultimately leads students and society to value each person's right to citizenship.

All this shows a remarkable convergence with the work of UNESCO, which operates worldwide, stating that learning more about other civilizations and cultures allows understanding of segregation and racial conflicts and affirming human rights.

With the Programme, UNESCO in Brazil, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Federal University of São Carlos, has produced pedagogical materials in Portuguese for teachers and students:

• Síntese da coleção História Geral da África
  A summary of the General History of Africa Collection in two volumes. Free access to digital format:
  • Volume 1 
  • Volume 2
• Books on the African and African-Brazilian history and culture for basic education teachers:
  •    Early Childhood Education

The Ministry of Education, in cooperation with UNESCO in Brazil, will soon launch more pedagogical material for basic education teachers at other school levels.

In May 2013, UNESCO launched the development of the ninth volume of the General History of Africa in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). The meeting was attended by some fifty experts from Africa and its diasporas (Americas, Asia, Europe, Indian Ocean).

The preparation and publication of a ninth volume of the GHA follow the decision EX.CL/520 (XV) called upon the African Union Member States to assist in drafting the “Ninth volume of the GHA covering the recent history since the decolonization, the end of Apartheid and the place of Africa in the world." 

In March 2019, the International Scientific Committee gathered in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) to plan and draft the Volumes IX, X, and XI of the General History of Africa. The meeting was organized in partnership with the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) and the Escola Superior Dom Helder Câmara (EDH). The objectives of the meeting were to:

• validate the introductions drafted by the Editors of volumes and Coordinators of Sections;

• review the manuscripts of the three new Volumes (Vol IX, Vol X & Vol XI as completed since the last meeting of the Scientific Committee in Xiamen, China in November 2017); and,

• discuss the strategy of the publishing, dissemination, and communication of the new volumes.

It was also an occasion for the Scientific Committee to showcase the importance and relevance of the work undertaken by UNESCO and to present the main conceptual innovations developed in the framework of this undertaking. To that end, a specific session was devoted to exchanges between the Committee members and Brazilian scholars, students and the general public around issues of great interest to Brazilian people, such as the concept of Global Africa.

In November 2023, UNESCO, in partnership with the Ministry of Education in Brazil and Unibanco Institute, launched Volume X of the General History of Africa in a side event of the Global Forum against Racism and Discrimination 2023 in São Paulo (Brazil). Volume X is already available in English and in Portuguese.