
With the development of communication technologies, people has become more aware of what is going on in the international scenario. That awareness resulted in a more active civil society and brought new themes to the international agenda. Governments have now to deal with social themes that, most of the times, surpass the national borders logic and demand a collective action to reach successful results. In this way, the responsible for managing the international affairs of a country are facing new challenges, dealing with new actors, in bigger number, all at once. In the other hand, civil society is organizing itself by creating NGOs and movements designed to highlight specific interests and themes.
Due to all those changes happening in the international picture on the present time, our International Relations and Politics program aims to give the participants a closer contact with all of the actors taking role in this process. Thereby, students will have the chance to talk with international leaders, civil society groups, NGO’s staff, government workers, academic specialists and Brazilian students from the area. With its huge extension, Brazil is a great example of developing country facing the challenges of international politics. Due to our economic status, our visibility in the international system is more highlighted than ever. With this program, you will be able to observe the implications of this visibility and the actions being made towards this direction.
SUGGESTED CITIES
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
FOZ DO IGUAÇU
Foz do Iguaçu is located at the state of Paraná and it has a population of approximately 265,000 inhabitants. The city is integrated into a tri-national region, bordering the Argentine city of Puerto Iguazú and the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este. The Brazilian city is home to the Itaipu dam, the world's largest hydroelectric plant in power generation. With 20 generator units and 14,000 MW of installed capacity, it provides approximately 17% of the energy consumed in Brazil and 75% of consumption in Paraguay. The importance of such energy production results in a constant work of the diplomatic body of both countries, in order to maintain good relations between the two nations. Besides, for its location (a tri-national region), the city provides a great example for those willing to observe migratory movements and how governments and official forces are dealing with those flows.
BRASÍLIA
Brasília is the federal capital of Brazil, and seat of government of the Federal District. The city was planned and developed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, in 1956, in order to move the capital from Rio de Janeiro to a more central location. Due to its political position, the city serves as headquarter to many research institutes and governmental organizations (national and international ones). Besides being the political center, Brasília is an important economic center. Brasília has the highest city gross domestic product (GDP) of 99.5 billion reais representing 3.76% of the total Brazilian GDP. The major roles of construction and of services (government, communications, banking and finance, food production, entertainment, and legal services) in Brasília's economy reflect the city's status as a governmental center. For that, most of the political picture of the country takes place in the city.


SAMPLE ITINERARY
ARRIVAL: Brasília International Airport - Transfer to the Hotel - Welcome to Brazil! For now on, relax and let us take care of everything to make sure you'll have an amazing experience.
- HISTORICAL CITY TOUR - Example of planned city, Brasília replaced Rio de Janeiro as Brazil’s center of government in 1960 under the visionary leadership of President Juscelino Kubitschek, architect Oscar Niemeyer, urban planner Lucio Costa and landscape architect Burle Marx.
Day 1 - Sunday
Day 2 - Monday
Day 3 - Tuesday
Day 4 - Wednesday
- VISIT AN ENVIRONMENTAL NGO – The environmental theme is one of the new subjects brought to the international agenda in the last quarter of the XXI century. What started as a civil society movement has now become influential actors in the international politics process of decision-making.
- VISIT TO THE UN’S OFFICE IN BRAZIL - As a specialized UN System agency, UNESCO works in close partnership with the other UN System agencies in Brazil through events and in implementation or development projects and activities that aim to strengthen the United States values, priorities and goals. The strategy in Brazil is aligned to UNESCO Mid-Term Strategy for 2014-2021 that together with the Programme and Budget for 2014-2017 represent the programmatic pillar of the Organization.
Is this itinerary too short or too long? We are open to adjust it in order to fit your needs!
Day 8 - Sunday
Day 5 - Thursday
- HOTEL CHECK-OUT
-VISIT TO AN EMBASSY – As the national capital, Brasília is headquarter to the embassies of several countries. They are responsible for serving as a home to those in charge of managing the diplomacy of their countries with the Brazilian government.
- TRANSFER TO THE AIRPORT
- FLIGHT TO FOZ DO IGUAÇU (PR)/Hotel Check-in
- VISIT TO A REFUGEES NGO – Located at the national border, Foz do Iguaçu have become destination for international refugees, especially those from Syria. The mission of NGOs is to work in partnership with asylum seekers, refugees and people in similar circumstances to retreat for their reintegration into society seeking their recovery and social, economic and cultural inclusion.
- LECTURE AT A UNIVERSITY – The challenge of national borders and the need for cooperation to integrate.
- HOTEL CHECK-OUT / TRANSFER TO THE AIRPORT
- FLIGHT TO RIO DE JANEIRO (RJ)/Hotel Check-in
- HISTORICAL CITY TOUR - Major route of international tourism in Brazil, Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere, Rio de Janeiro is the most famous Brazilian city in the international picture, working as a national "portrait". Due to its huge importance, the city was capital of the country until 1960, when the position was transferred to Brasilia. It's worth emphasizing, in 2012, part of the city was classified as Humanity's Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
‐ VISIT TO ITAIPU HYDROPOWER PLANT - The Itaipu Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The project ranges from Foz do Iguaçu, in Brazil, and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. In 2013 the plant generated a record 98.6 TWh, supplying approximately 75% of the electricity consumed by Paraguay and 17% of that consumed by Brazil. For its huge potential, the Dam is one of the main subject in the discussions of diplomatic relations of both countries.
- FOZ DO IGUAÇU CITY TOUR - Foz do Iguaçu is the Brazilian city, integrated into a tri-national region, bordering the Argentine city of Puerto Iguazú and the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este. Its population is approximately 265,000 inhabitants. The Iguaçu Falls, located on the border of Argentina and Brazil and consisting of approximately 257 individual falls over 2.7 km (1.7 mi), were chosen as one of the "New Natural Seven Wonders of the World."
Day 7 - Saturday
Day 10 - Tuesday
- Free Time / Hotel Check-out
- Transfer to the Airport
RETURN FLIGHT - Tchau! We hope to see you again soon! If you loved this experience as much as we did, you'll probably understand the meaning of the portuguese word "Saudade".
Day 9 - Monday
- FAVELA CONNECTION: Cantagalo is a pacified community located between Copacabana and Ipanema, full of culture, history and a beautiful view of the city. Get to know how 22% of the inhabitants in Rio de Janeiro live.
- BEACH TIME/FREE TIME - The state of Rio de Janeiro is the one of the longest coasts of Brazil, being the city itself home to some of most famous beaches in the world, as the Copacabana beach, Ipanema beach and Barra da Tijuca beach.
PRICING
CONTACT
SAFETY
Unlike other countries, most Brazilian universities do not offer accommodation on campus for students. Therefore, Campus Brasil has partnerships with several housing providers in order to provide the best option according to your students needs and the program style. We will work with you to provide high quality accommodations where you feel comfortable and at home.
Suggested accommodation for this program: 3-star hotels
- LECTURE AT A UNIVERSITY – Diplomacy in developing counties: an international politics overview
- ACTIVITY WITH BRAZILIAN STUDENTS – i.e. UN Simulation, Case Competition, Workshop
- VISIT TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS – The National Congress is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state Legislative Assemblies and Municipal Chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
- VISIT TO THE MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS – Palácio do Itamaraty – This is the headquarters of the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil. It is located in the national capital of Brasília.
Day 6 - Friday
Here are some suggestions of what you could add...
- CASE COMPETITION: In this activity participants will be divided into teams and will be given a challenge, according to the central theme of exchange program. The group with the best performance in the accomplishment of the task will receive an award. The case competition can be also realized with the participation of Brazilians that study or work in the sector at issue.
- SERVICE-LEARNING: Provides opportunities where students can apply their valuable research + classroom knowledge to contribute to advancing an organizations' goals, positively affecting change in the community.
WHO IS THIS PROGRAM FOR?
The program is intended for undegrad and graduated students from the following areas: International Relations, Political Science, Economics and any related area. Can't your students speak Portuguese? That's not a problem! Our program is totally given in English, so there's no need to have any previous knowledge of our native language. Nonetheless, by the end of the trip you should be able to use a few useful words.
Knowing that details make all the difference to the success of a program’s itinerary and bearing in mind that Brazil is a country of continental dimensions, Campus Brasil always works with the best mobility options, with transportation providers that offer flexibility and comfort to ensure that your group is always on time, on schedule and on point for the proposed activities. Our coordination is here to facilitate the logistics and also provide learning through Brazilian landscapes.


ACADEMICS
- LECTURES: The most traditional way of learning. Campus Brasil works with top-notch universities (see some of them here) in order to provide the best content to the students. All lectures are held in English.
- ORGANIZATION VISITS: We don't want your students to spend the entire visit inside a classroom when there is a whole new world to discover outside it. The organization visits can vary from a dialogue with a senior manager, director or CEO to a half-day visit including a tour of the organization facilities. The most important part of any organization visit is that your students will be free to ask any question they want. Campus Brasil will send more information about the company to be visited including articles, videos, etc, so everybody can prepare questions.
Your students' safety is an absolute top priority. We live and work in Brazil and know how to safely navigate this vibrant country we call home. Campus Brasil offers the following safety measures:
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Pre-departure orientation - As soon as the program is confirmed, we send a document with all the tips and necessary information regarding safety, in addition to logistics and other considerations.
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Arrival orientation - On the first day we gather for a session with the group to explain the dos and don'ts while in Brazil;
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Housing - We select accommodations in safe neighborhoods where your students will be comfortable;
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Local coordinators - We provide bilingual coordinators that accompanies the group 24/7. That means they go out with the students in the evening, to make sure everybody is safe and having a great time. They also stay at the same hotel the group will be staying, so they are available for any emergency. For any group with more than 12 students, Campus Brasil provides 2 coordinators;
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Emergency number - Campus Brasil has a telephone number available 24/7;
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Safety & Crisis Management - This document is a plan that contains all for our procedures to predict risks and respond to a variety of emergency situations.

Click here and get to know more about pricing...
You can write to info@campusbrasil.org, call us at +55 11 2679-0555. If you prefer, you can also fill out the following form:
Our programs combine organization visits, lectures at local universities and cultural activities. This combination aims to involve your students and make them have a great academic experience in Brazil. Get to know more about ways they will learn:

"Campus Brasil is my favorite educational travel agency in the world, and I have worked with many. In addition to arranging top-notch company visits, business lectures and cultural activities, they also took our students to social events in the evenings. At the end of each trip, my students have not only learned how business in Brazil functions, they also go home having made close friends with the people from Campus Brasil. Campus Brasil has made planning business-oriented study abroad trips so easy that I am using them for three trips this year."
Christine Gozdziak
Assistant Dean of Business International Programs at the University of Illinois
RIO DE JANEIRO
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the second-largest city in Brazil and has one of the highest GPD of the country. Part of the metropolis has been designated as a World Heritage Site, named "Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea", by UNESCO on 1 July 2012 as a Cultural Landscape. With an amazing view and one of the richest cultural agenda of Brazil, Rio is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, Carnival, samba, bossa nova, and balneario beaches. Being the most popular national destination for tourists, Rio de Janeiro serves as a “national portrait” of Brazil abroad. For that, the city is a great place to understand how international opinion may influence in national politics and how governments work along these influences.

- VISIT TO A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - Chambers of commerce operate fostering international trade. They are private non-profit organizations that promote trade, industry, tourism and culture of the countries they represent.
- VISIT TO CHRIST THE REDEEMER STATUE - Inaugurated in 1931, the statue is one of the 7 New Wonders of the World. Trying to describe the magnitude and the beauty of this monument is useless: you need to visit to understand. The view speaks for itself.
Day 11 - Wednesday
- VISIT TO A CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION – As emphasized before, 22% of the inhabitants in Rio de Janeiro live in favelas. This means a big portion of the population living in vulnerable conditions and located in places where the operation of the state might be flawed. Due to this, this citizens are organizing themselves in order to build strong movements, able to take their demands to the government administration.
- LECTURE AT A UNIVERSITY – Global Governance: what’s civil society’s role in this new way of making politics?
Day 10 - Tuesday
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin