Municipal Conferences discuss democracy and racial justice
With the support of the State government, the events in each municipality are preparatory for the state stage, which will take place on August 20 and 21
Municipalities in Pará are mobilizing for racial equality with the realization of the Municipal Conferences on Racial Equality, until the month of July. Marabá, in the southeast of Pará, hosted its Racial Equality Conference on Wednesday (25), marking the 14th edition of the event in the state. This Thursday (26), it is Belém's turn to host the II Municipal Conference on Racial Equality.
The events are promoted by local administrations, with the support of the Government of Pará, through the State Secretariat for Racial Equality and Human Rights (Seirdh), and the State Council for Racial Equality Promotion Policy (Coneppir). By July 15, seven more municipalities are expected to hold their conferences.
The head of Seirdh, Edilza Fontes, explained that the Municipal Conferences on Racial Equality are held based on articulations and incentives from the Secretariat. “Our staff from the Racial Equality Directorate (DIR) are personally going to each municipality to explain the importance of the event. In many cities, this will be the first edition. It is a milestone and highlights our government's commitment to actions related to the racial equality agenda,” said the manager.
Preparation - Democracy, racial justice, and reparation are the guiding axes of the events. The dialogues in each municipality will direct the State Conference on Racial Equality Promotion, which will be held on August 20 and 21, and will send 63 delegates to the national stage, the 5th National Conference on Racial Equality Promotion (Conapir), from September 15 to 19, in Brasília (DF). The event will bring together delegates from all regions, representatives of the public power and civil society.
The public conferences are moments of listening, dialogue, and collective construction, where everyone can contribute to the formulation of fairer and more inclusive policies. These spaces are achievements of the historical struggle of the black movement and other ethnic-racial groups, being fundamental to strengthen social participation, democratic control of public policies, and the fight against structural racism.
For the director of Racial Equality at Seirdh, João Corrêa, the municipal conferences are spaces for public debates and proposal presentations, including government actions. "The state conference will also be this moment of debate and joint construction and segments to formulate proposals that will be established in public policy in the national context, considering the theme 'Equality and Democracy, Reparation and Racial Justice', which addresses democracy aimed at correcting historical injustices," said the director.
System - The manager of Racial Equality Promotion, Denilson Silva, explained that the articulations with society and the realization of the conferences in Pará reinforce the importance of strengthening the National System for Racial Equality Promotion (Sinapir). Currently, only 550 Brazilian municipalities implement policies from the System.
“Municipalities must adhere to Sinapir to consolidate their policies. We know that we still have a lot of work ahead to expand it to other municipalities. The creation of the Racial Equality Promotion Policy in the municipality begins with this first step, which is the realization of the conference,” he informed.
“In these events, issues will be raised that point to the need for the creation of an agency, an instrument. It can be a coordination, a department, a directorate, or even a secretariat, that can specifically address policies aimed at the black population, traditional peoples and communities, in order to mitigate all these negative impacts that, historically, this population has been suffering,” added the manager.
Text: Ascom/CRG and Seirdh
