On January 24, 2023, the Latin American Program (LAP) of the Auschwitz Institute, supported by the zivik funding program of the ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) and in collaboration with the Office of the Ombudsperson of Brazil (PFDC) organized a virtual seminar to discuss the integration of Venezuelan migrants into higher education in Brazil. The seminar is part of the project “Atrocity Prevention during the Latin American Migration Crisis – Brazil.”
The seminar, which was conducted via Zoom and simulcast on YouTube, marked the presentation of two public policy proposals on integrating Venezuelan migrants into higher education in Roraima, Brazil. Carlos Alberto Carvalho de Vilhena Coelho, the Ombudsperson of Brazil, was among the keynote speakers and emphasized the importance of the resources developed by AIPG during the project. The webinar was attended by government officials from Brazil and other Latin American countries, academic representatives, international organizations, and AIPG staff.
The two public policy proposals presented at the seminar were:
- The creation of a training program on Human Rights and the Fight against Racism and Xenophobia
- The implementation of a policy for access to university education for migrants and refugees
The focus on education and training as tools for protecting Venezuelan migrants in Roraima was chosen based on the Diagnosis Report of the Situation of Communities in Human Mobility in Boa Vista. This report was developed in 2021 during the first phase of the Atrocity Prevention during the Latin American Migration Crisis – Brazil project. The ultimate goal is to help migrants integrate into the formal labor market and to create a network of public servants trained in atrocity prevention.
After the presentations, attendees participated in a question and answer session that delved further into the topic. The webinar concluded with an outline of the work planned for the third phase of the project, which is scheduled to take place throughout 2023. The event was broadcast simultaneously on the LAP channel on YouTube, and the recording can be accessed through this link.