UFMA, ALMA-BRAZIL to ALBA-LEBANON

TEXT-TRANSLATION (Portuguese-English)

The First International Colloquium of Memories, Diversity and Cultural Identities, realized at the auditorium of the Santa Terezinha - Faculty of Education, was an initiative of the ALMA Research Group, coordinated by Professor Herli de Souza Carvalho, from the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), Imperatriz Campus.

The event finished yesterday, September 30^th 2011, with courses, workshops, narratives and life history of quilombolas (free black people and communities formed since Slave Period of Brazil), cinema sessions, roundtables and cultural moments. The Doctor, coordinator of the Pedagogy course and professor Assis Almada, the campus´ director representing and the Master, professor and coordinator of the Afro-Brazilian studies group of the Santa Terezinha - Faculty of Education, Veríssima Nunes, and the international inviter - professor Doctor Antoine Abi Aad (University of Balamand, Beirut, Lebanon), have attended the opening ceremony.

The counter-master of capoeira Luiz Antonio Nascimento Cardoso (nicknamed Pinguim) from the Afro-Brazilian Arts and Cultural Nuclei of São Paulo University, was the novelty while teaching Capoeira de Angola, Maculelê dance, Samba de Roda and Afro-dancing. Pinguim introduced these rhythms and:"In the workshop we introduce Afro elements while working a little of each rhythm", said the capoeirista.

The UFMA´s nursing student - Marcelo de Moraes, related his experience in the event. He participated in ALMA Research Group and showed the importance of working among quilombolas (see above), where he developed a project in health with hypertension and diabetes subjects. "We started this work with those communities from Alcântara and in the second camp trip we will continue among others".

Herli de Souza Carvalho, who idealized the event, believes that since the beginning the main objective has been reached, which was to start research in the region. Considering the quantity of participants in the event, it is known who works with the thematic and how it can be discussed among them. "We had more than 80 research communications during three days of event. This means that more than 100 people have been done part of the whole process: narratives, speeches and participations". She added that the richness of these works is significant to Imperatriz city and region as well.

The first day of the event ended with a speech of the Lebanese inviter professor Doctor Antoine Abi Aad, whom presented the theme: “Medium Orient and Arabic Culture”. He presented a comparison on Brazilian and Lebanese writing forms.

Original in Portuguese: Communication Assessorial from Federal Maranhão University (ASCOM-UFMA). Available on: http://oprogressonet.com/noticiario/14217/cidade/2011/10/1/mistura-de-culturas-envolve-participantes-do-i-coloquio-internacional/. Accessed in: April 10^th , 2014. 

Translation from Brazilian Portuguese into English: credits to professor Dr. Fabio José Cardias Gomes (UFMA, ALMA-BRAZIL) and professor Dr. Antoine Abi Aad (ALBA Académie Libanaise des Beaux Arts, Beirut - ALBA-LEBANON).