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This book is the result of a process hitherto unheard of in Brazil. A short time ago, it would have not been considered possible to produce information on Brazilian youth that draws on rigorous academic research, militant commitment by nongovernmental organisations nationally renowned for their part in the struggle for participatory democracy, support from a Canadian international cooperation organisation offering not only funding, but a valuable interchange of methodology and, lastly, support and real interest from the Brazilian federal government. The project was also unprecedented in another way. Throughout the course of the research, a ‘political council’ accompanied the process by offering suggestions and input and, most importantly, sharing the results with a broad, diverse public.

There are two more important reasons that the study underpinning this book should be highly valued. Firstly, a network of partner institutions throughout Brazil’s vast territory was successfully put together for the study. Secondly, the research made a timely contribution to building Brazil’s National Youth Policy. This last point calls for some important clarifications.

In Brazil, it was not until the late 1990s that the discussion on youth policies gained momentum. It was a time marked by rapid and far-reaching technological change, which transformed the labour market and spawned various forms of violence, heightening feelings of insecurity among young people. In that context, researchers, international organizations, social movements, municipal and state policy-makers directed vigorous effort to uncovering the unique features of this generation’s social experience by identifying its vulnerabilities, demands and potentials.

One prominent initiative in 2003 was Projeto Juventude, carried out by Instituto Cidadania. It conducted a wide-ranging national survey, held conversations with youth movements, experts and non-governmental organizations and organized several regional seminars as well as one at the national level.

Also in 2003, Congress set up the first-ever parliamentary commission on youth policies. The commission held public hearings all over Brazil, called a national conference in Brasilia, and organized visits abroad to tap into related international experience. In the process, a constitutional amendment, a National Youth Plan and a Youth Statute were drafted.

In 2004, an inter-ministerial group to examine government youth programmes and measures, was set up at the request of Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and the Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, Luiz Dulci. This group, with representatives from nineteen ministries, diagnosed the situation of Brazil’s youth. Additionally it recommended inter-ministerial integration and shared management of programmes and actions, which are basic requirements for constituting a national youth policy.

Between June and September 2004, the results from these and other initiatives reached the Presidency of the Republic. All converged on one point: the need to set up an institutional space specifically for ‘youth’. That was the next step. In dialogue with local actors while also taking international experience into account, the Lula government was able to design its National Youth Policy. On 1 February 2005, a provisional order was sent to Congress, where it was approved with the support of members from a range of political parties. Finally, the law was put into force by the President in July that same year. Today, all young Brazilians between the ages of 15 and 29 are potential beneficiaries of this policy.

The law instituted the National Youth Secretariat (Secretaria Nacional de Juventude, SNJ), which reports to the Secretariat-General of the Presidency of the Republic and whose main task is to coordinate and supervise programmes and measures for young people; the National Youth Council (Conselho Nacional da Juventude, Conjuve), an advisory board responsible for fostering studies and proposing guidelines; and the National Youth Inclusion Programme (Programa Nacional de Inclusão de Jovens, ProJovem), an emergency programme for 18 to 24 year olds excluded from both school and the labour market.

The purpose of this preface is to highlight the timely historical circumstances that have led to the results of the study (conducted by Ibase, Pólis and IDRC) being immediately used to inform the design and introduction of youth policies in Brazil.

The National Youth Council was set in place by President Lula in August 2005. At this council, the results of the quantitative study and the outcomes of the Dialogue Groups informed not only the council members on the part of civil society – including Ibase and other participants in the Juventude Brasileira e Democracia – but also government representatives, enabling them all to participate more fully.

To research and produce knowledge about youth, and all of its inequalities and diversities, is to contribute to its political recognition as a public stakeholder, with demands, languages and creativity of its own. This is also the aim of this book. The authors are confident that the avenues of social dialogue can be renewed and broadened.

Certainly much remains to be done. We are just beginning. However, due credit must be given for the steps taken thus far. The study Juventude Brasileira e Democracia is without a doubt a successful experience in knowledge production that is having a beneficial influence on ongoing social processes. By acknowledging youth as the ‘subject of rights’, hopefully new ways and ground-breaking paths forward for a more just and democratic society will be encountered. With the same view to innovation, we hope that this book will help continue and extend this rich and challenging dialogue among social organizations and researchers from Brazil and Canada.

Regina Novaes
Member of the Political Council of the
Juventude e Democracia study,
Chair of the Conselho Nacional de Juventude (Conjuve),
National Deputy Secretary for Youth

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