Brazil welcomes ICORN

Exactly a year after the second visit to Brazil, ICORN returns in order to consolidate the fruits of the agreement between Brazilians partners earned in 2014.

The itinerary will take them from Ouro Preto and Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais) to São Paolo, three cities which have clearly demonstrated their interest in the work of ICORN. Until last year, the work of ICORN was unknown in Brazil, a country which is larger than the whole of Europe and far away, geographically speaking, from the conflicts that trouble particularly the Middle East and Africa today.

Three kinds of meetings are planned for the visit: Public debates on freedom of expression and the necessity to create more cities of refuge in the world; meetings with academic institutions and political representatives that support future cities of refuge in Brazil, and; encounters with local cultural and social actors. CABRA founder, Sylvie Debs says:

As there is no reference model in Brazil, it is important to study how ICORN can adapt the programme to Brazilian requirements, on both institutional and financial levels. It is therefore particularly important at this moment of the negotiations that Elizabeth Dyvik has the possibility to meet our future partners in order to prepare the agreements and the conditions of shelter.

A novelty that appeared in 2015, as a result the conferences organized by CABRA and exposure in the media, is the interest shown by study groups, cultural and literary associations, to meet the ICORN writers, to learn about their production and to understand the situation of their country. The visiting ICORN writers have been invited to engage in an exchange with local writers, social actors, students, university professors, and psychoanalysts involved at various levels with issues of writing, exile and refuge. These encounters are particularly interesting, because they open up to a more smooth meeting between future ICORN residents and Brazilian culture and citizens who are deeply involved in these concerns.

This is one of the strong objectives of Cabra, not only to extend the ICORN network in Brazil, but also to create a parallel network of cultural associations where the future writers will have a place for speaking, meetings and exchanges,

underlines Sylvie Debs.

PROGRAMME

Ouro Preto
Forum das Letras Festival, Federal University (UFOP) and Ateliê de Psicanalise

Wednesday 4 November

Elisabeth Dyvik will have a speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Forum das Letras at 7 p.m. about the four months residency the University of Ouro Preto is opening for Girma Fantaye, according to a letter of intent signed last year. (Cine Vila Rica - Praça Reinaldo Alves de Brito, 47 – Centro).

Thursday 5 November

At 2 p.m., the writers and the ICORN representatives will be received at the University Federal of Ouro Preto (UFOP) by Marcone Jamilson de Freitas, the Rector of the University, Carlos Magnos Paiva, the coordinator of International Relations at UFOP, Guiomar de Grammont, the curator of the Forum, Ana Lopes, the Professor of the university in charge of Girma Fantaye’s residency programme, to discuss the possibilities of extending the scholarship agreement from four months to 2 years. (Sala de Reuniões da Reitoria - Centro)

Friday 6 November

At 7 p.m., Guiomar de Grammont, the curator of the Forum das Letras will mediate the debate with Safaa Fathy, Girma Fantaye, Elisabeth Dyvik and Sylvie Debs. The chosen theme is “Exile or Silence” and the venue is Cine Vila Rica (Praça Reinaldo Alves de Brito, 47 – Centro). After the debate, the Rector of the University, Marcone Jamilson de Freitas, will inaugurate the ICORN’s residency.

Saturday 7 November

Safaa Fathy, Girma Fantaye, Elisabeth Dyvik and Sylvie Debs are welcomed to an exchange with students, teachers and psychoanalysts from 6 to 8 p.m. around a welcome drink at the Ateliê de Psicanalise (Largo do Rosario, 74).

Belo Horizonte
Cas’a’screver, Federal University (UFMG) and Government of Minas Gerais

To welcome the ICORN team in Belo Horizonte, Lucia Castello Branco and the Cas’a’screver have invited them to enjoy a welcome lunch with writers, poets, essayists, students, teachers and psychoanalysts from 6 to 8 p.m. (Avenida Brasil, 75 – Santa Efigênia)

Monday 9 November

The University organizes a one day seminary called The writing, the exile, the home from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

9 am: Opening by the Vice Rector, Sandra Goulart

9:30-12:00 am: Round table on writing and exile

Discussant: Patricia Kauark

Mediator: Silvana Person

Screening of the film "Nom à la mer" by Safaa Fathy (with poems by the writer, voiced by Derrida, and Portuguese subtitles), followed by exposure of the filmmaker and debate.

2:00 to 3:30 pm: Round table on Freedom of expression, Elisabeth Dyvik (executive director of ICORN), testimony by Girma Fantaye, poet and journalist (Ethiopia),
Discussant: Sylvie Debs (ICORN Representative in Brazil)
Mediator: Maria Zilda Ferreira Cury (TALK-UFMG)

Screening of the film Silence or Exile by Marion Stalens (with the participation of Ma Jian, Mana Neyestani, Horacio Castellanos Moya and Svetlana Alexievich), followed by exposure of ICORN and debate.

5:30 to 6:30 pm: Closure/Poetry

Poetry readings by Safaa Fathy and Girma Fantaye.

After the seminary, at 7 p.m., the ICORN team will have an institutional meeting with Sandra Goulart (Vice Rector), Leda Martins (Director of the Cultural Programme), Miriam Jorge (Coordinator of International Relations), Lucia Castello Branco (Professor at the Faculty of Literature), to prepare the the signing of an agreement between ICORN and IMG to receive the first ICORN writer from July 2016.

Tuesday 10 November

The ICORN delegation will meet with various representatives of the Government of Minas Gerais to the administrative city from 12h to 13h. (Room 6- 11° floor).

With:

• ARI: Rodrigo Perpétuo, Director of the International Relations Office
• SECTES: Aline Burni, Advisor to the International Relations from the Secretary of Technology and Higher Education.
• Leonardo Soares Nader, Dean of the Director of  the Secretary of Promotion and Defense of the Human Rights
• SEDPAC - Julia Lydia, Director of the  International Relations Department from the Secretary of State for Human Rights, Social Participation and Citizenship
• SEC: John Michael, Superintendent of Internalization and Cultural Action 

São Paulo
Casa Tombada and SESC

Tuesday 10 November

To welcome the ICORN team in São Paulo, Angela Castelo Branco and Casa Tombada (r. Min. Godói, 109 – Perdizes) has invited the ICORN writers to present their trajectory and their writings to the students in the evening.

Wednesday 11 November

On 11 November, from 10:30 to 13:30, Denise Collus, manager of youth programs and director of the cultural diversity program of the SESC will moderate the debate on shelters cities and speak about the Brazilian context for refugees. ICORN, CABRA and the ICORN writers will share their experiences of having to leave their home country and integrate into another culture.

For more information, check out: Forum das Letras, UFMG, SESC Sao Paulo, redecabra.wordpress.com and Casas Brasileiras de Refúgio - CABRA on Facebook

Safaa Fathy

Safaa Fathy was born in Egypt. She obtained her PhD from the Sorbonne in 1993. She is currently a Director of programme at the International College of Philosophy. She is a poet, film maker and essayist. Her most recent films are Mohammad saved from the waters, Derrida’s elsewhere and a film poem Nom à la mer. Her plays Terror and Ordeal were prefaced by Jacques Derrida, with whom she signed a book, Tourner les mots au bord d’un film. Her latest published collection of poems is A name in a bottle at the sea. Her most recent essays are Scream, see and believe, and The secret in the image. Revolution, a wall we cross is a forthcoming collection of poetry and a film in progress Tahrir, raise, raise your voice.

Girma Fantaye

Girma Fantaye is a journalist, writer and poet from Ethiopia, and has been writing for print and web publications since 2004. His articles on politics, social matters, arts and travel, along with his short stories, have appeared in publications including the Meznagna newspaper and magazine, Ethiomirror.com, Addis Neger newspaper and website, and The New York Times.