Brazil

Focus: Environment & Ecology
Location: Salvador, Brazil
Language: English & Portuguese
Dates:  July 13 - August 9 (Please note date change)
Housing: Single & Shared
Costs & Credits:
Check our application section for details.

Global PACT Brazil focuses on environmental and ecological issues in the Amazon, including the effects of climate change, environmental degradation, and the growth of new industries, such as pharmaceuticals and climate change technologies. This program will appeal to students interested in global activism and advocacy surrounding issues of poverty and environmental concerns.

Global PACT Brazil will be based at the University of Bahia, where Global PACT has established a new partnership. Students will work with Brazilian students in small groups to identify, break down, and research environmental and social problems

confronting the community. Each team will then design a project to address its problem. Global PACT will provide initial funding for the best project.

In addition to the three-week training in Bahia, students will travel to Manaus, the Amazon jungle's port of entry. "This city of 1.5 million lies along the north bank of the Negro River, 11 miles (18 km) above its confluence with the Amazon (Solimoes). It is located 900 miles (1,450 km) inland from the Atlantic coast in the heart of the Amazon rain forest. As a major inland port (reached by oceangoing vessels from the Atlantic), it is a collecting and distribution center for the river areas of the upper Amazon. Principal exports include rubber, Brazil nuts, rosewood oil, jute, and a host of minor forest products; cordage and coffee sacks are made from jute. Manaus' industries include brewing, shipbuilding, soap manufacturing, the production of chemicals, the manufacture of electronics equipment, and petroleum refining (the oil being brought by barge down the Amazon from Peru)."

To complement the rigorous Global PACT curriculum, students will participate in weekly excursions, including a two-day trip to facilities in the heart of the jungle, a trip to the "Meeting of the Waters" and the ecological parks, and visits to other NGOs in Manaus.

A Typical Day

The entire program is conducted in English, and local international students must submit TOEFL scores for eligibility.

During a typical day, you will receive six hours of Global PACT classroom instruction -- three in the morning and three in the afternoon. You will listen to lectures, interact with instructors as a class, and work one-to-one with a small, multi-national group and Global PACT trainers. You and your team members will make frequent class presentations to the large group. On some days, you will travel around the city conducting research for your project, and on the final day your group will conduct a live press conference to introduce your project to the Brazilian press. After class, you will be free to hang out with your classmates, although some project work will require you to work with your team after classroom hours are over.