Capoeira and 7 Causes – fifth edition of "Gingando para a Cidadania"!

“7 days 7 causes” was a name of the project that Ginga Brasil Association had done this year. But it was not only the project at the end of which we have organized next edition of “doing ginga for citizenship” – it was a great example of how Capoeira might be used for social causes. And thanks to financial support of Youth In Action program we were able to show that example to almost 40 people from: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Great Britain and Estonia.

Project participants visiting Lisbon

Project was realized in late April and early May 2014.  As the name suggests it lasted seven days during which we disseminated seven social goals – European citizenship, overcoming poverty (social inclusion), volunteering, creativity and innovation, global environmental issues, young people’s health, intercultural dialogue – and demonstrated how Afro-Brazilian culture might be utilized to enhance realizing those goals.

Six nations (Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech, Estonia, Great Britain, Portugal)  all united for seven causes

Through Capoeira, Maculele, African dances, music lesson we integrated five different nations and we sensitized participants to many social issues. Firsts four days was a preparation – as many participants have never done Capoeira we did a lot of  various classes with basics – to the “Gingando para a Cidadania” event that took place at the end of the project. Many of our students changed their gradation, our youngest pupils did the same and had the opportunity to play with good capoeiristas from all over the Europe.  

But what is more important: each day we also realized different topic (mentioned above) that in our opinion are connected to the idea of citizenship or civic society. If you are interested in more details  you can see more information about this project on its blog page: http://7days7causes.blogspot.pt/

As it was a first time that our Association was a host for so many people we learned a lot through this experience. Members of association gain a lot thanks to interaction with other cultures  and participants not only were able to develop their Capoeira skills but also become more aware of  topics that are significant in nowadays Europe.