The Secretary of Citizenship and Cultural Diversity, Márcia Rollemberg, emphasizes the importance of uniting the themes of childhood, art, culture, and sustainability. "In the current climate emergency, we need to recognize culture as an element capable of transforming narratives, ways of life, consumption, and production. Children—as fully-fledged cultural subjects, protagonists of their own trajectories, and who engage with their knowledge, traditions, territories, and contemporary world—are capable of inspiring social change. They are guardians of imagination and hope, inspiring us to care for the planet and our cultures," says Márcia

The program will feature artistic activities, workshops, and discussions with the direct participation of children from different territories and biomes, recognizing them as cultural and environmental subjects. It will also involve educators, cultural managers, researchers, artists, and civil society. To participate in the Seminar, registration is required link

According to Karina Gama, Director of Cultural Diversity Promotion at the Ministry of Culture, children are among the most affected groups in vulnerable contexts and, therefore, must be at the center of this debate. "The climate crisis has a variety of impacts on children, such as the loss of territory, the rupture of community ties, violence, and the denial of play as a founding experience and a basic cultural right. Our goal is to discuss strategies to address these violations and to put childhood back at the center of public cultural policies," she added

"For 15 years, LACAS at UFRJ has collaborated with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship in the development of cultural public policies. UFRJ's Occupational Therapy program understands culture as a fundamental right, recognizing children as producers of culture and subjects of rights. Participating in this Festival reinforces LACAS and UFRJ's partnership with children, contributing to imagining and building other possible futures, where caring for children and caring for the planet are inseparable dimensions of a shared ethical and political commitment to life," explained Patricia Dorneles, coordinator of LACAS/UFRJ

Schedule

The Festival will feature cultural and artistic experiences, including workshops, games, music, and interactive experiences provided by Pontos de Cultura (Cultural Points), projects run by UFRJ and the Museum of Tomorrow. It is a space to celebrate the cultural diversity of childhood, with activities open to the public at the Museum of Tomorrow from the 9th to the 12th, in the morning and afternoon

The seminar will feature roundtable discussions and debates with experts, masters of traditional and popular knowledge, cultural managers, researchers, and the children themselves. The opening session will be on Thursday, October 9th, at 5 p.m., at the Museum of Tomorrow.

On Friday (10), the program will begin at 2:30 pm, at the Pedro Calmon Theater, at UFRJ, with the panel Culture, Childhood and Languages: Art, Body, Memories and Inclusion. Following this, there will be a screening of the new film “From the Lap to the Earth”, a documentary from Território do Brincar, sponsored by the Alana Institute, which portrays the experiences of children from the Guarani Kaiowá, Guarani Nhandeva, Baniwa and Khisêtjê indigenous communities. After the screening, there will be a chat with director Renata Meirelles

On Saturday (11), two panels will be held at Arena COP, a space within the Museum of Tomorrow. The first, at 10:30 am, will address the theme Knowledge and Practices of Childhood Culture: Ancestry and Inspiring Practices. The second, at 2 pm, will focus on Childhood and Culture: Ancestral Memories, Diversity and Futures of the Planet. The event will then conclude at 5 pm with the presentation of the Children's Letter for the Planet

Partnership

The Festival and Seminar are part of the Ministry of Culture's commitment to coordinating policies to guarantee cultural rights for the country's diverse children. The project is in partnership with the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship, the Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy, the Alana Institute, the Bola de Meia Cultural Company, the Imagination Plant, the Rio de Janeiro City Hall, and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). It also mobilizes the active participation of Pontos and Pontões de Cultura (Culture Points) of the National Living Culture Policy, which strengthen cultural, educational, and environmental practices in these territories