Uirapuru Youth Empowerment Program is an educational program open for youth from the Mantiqueira region in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The program provides the participants with skills and inspiration to develop their personal approach to using music as a powerful tool for the development of their community.

The main focus of this project is on holistic education as a method for prevention of social problems. Music is the meeting point in this process that aims for encouragement of self-confidence, creativity, solidarity and cultural capital among key-individuals that show clearly that they intend to use the skills they acquire through the program to help make their local community a safer, healthier, happier, more equal, peaceful and otherwise sustainable living environment by sharing their new knowledge with family and peers.

Various types of cultural events that are open to everyone are part of Terra Una’s activities through other projects such as the Ponto de Cultura. In addition to the curriculum presented below, participants in Uirapuru program will be encouraged to assist in the implementation of these events as an opportunity to put their special training into practice.

Working with the development of human relations and social structures requires time and adequate methods. However, it has been observed that educational projects aiming for the deepening of social awareness as well as diffusion of peaceful values and efficient communication is very efficient when it comes to preventing violence and exploitation.

Background
In a global context Brazil is one of the strongest emerging economies and can potentially play an important part in the transition of the global society in the direction of environmental and social sustainability.

However social structures are still following patterns inherited from a highly hierarchical pre-industrial era. Questions related to issues such as water- and forest-management as well as pollution are generally assigned very low priority on the political agenda, in spite the fact that they are threatening the health and even survival of millions of human beings as global climate change is beginning to give raise to phenomena such as unpredictable rainfalls and even tornados, hitherto unheard of in this part of the world. This is the scenario that the children of our age are growing up in and we believe it is their right to be informed about it as well as what can be done.

In a country where a majority of the population is under 20 years old, raising public awareness of what can be done to prevent unnecessary human and material losses and establish more efficient and sustainable practices and technologies for greater well being and stability responding to the social and ecological challenges of our time, demographic development, through integration of urban and rural economy and life style, is a crucial step towards the realization of this part of the world, so rich in natural and human resources, as an source of true abundance and creative solutions for the entire planet.

The celebrative and encouraging nature of the transformational music education provided through the Uirapuru Program serves to create interest and involvement in the urgent and all encompassing issues of our time in a hopeful and empowering manner, and aims to assist the participants in developing the skills and confidence needed to spread proactive and constructive values and methods like rings on the water.
Terra Una’s strategic choice to give great importance to education work related to media technology is also motivated by the insight that citizens that are aware of their possibility to influence their local as well as global living environment, and are taught methods to do so, are capable of inspiring many others to do the same, thus propelling peaceful and beneficial human development.

Setting
The Mantiqueira Mountains in South East Brazil is the region that has most fresh water springs per square kilometer in the world. The rivers that are born here provide drinking water to tens of millions of people living in some of the most densely populated areas on the planet. It is clear then that environmental consciousness among the inhabitants of the Mantiqueira region is crucial, not only for their own future, but for the survival and health of tens of millions of people.

Unfortunately this is currently not the case. The level of education is generally very low. Gender and class inequality is conspicuous and access to accurate information is rare.

The sources of income on which most people have relied for the last decades are now longer viable and many young people choose to leave their birthplace in search of an uncertain future in the slums of the major cities. Social problems such as unemployment, alcoholism, drug-abuse, prostitution and other forms of exploitation are widespread and increasing.

However, there are also many reasons for hope. The potential for new and more effective sources of income for local inhabitants are extensive.

The human capital is good; in spite of the weak local economy, social structures are comparatively intact, and there is room for entrepreneurism. Although soils are generally degraded through centuries of inadequate farming practices such as burning and excessive cattle grazing, conditions for restoration through agro-forestry and other Perma-Cultural technologies are favorable given the mild climate and pockets of preserved Atlantic Rainforest that still exist. Through education, support and adequate tools it is possible to create successful and sustainable models for positive economic, social and environmental development, thus making it possible for young people to stay and contribute to the improvement of their home region.

Career Opportunities
Situated right in the middle of the triangle formed by the three megalopolis: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, the Mantiqueria Mountains are becoming a refuge of purity and health for more and more city dwellers. The abundance of rivers with beautiful waterfalls, forests and mineral water springs already attracts many visitors in some parts of this area.

Preparing the local population to make the best of this tendency by learning how to offer quality services in the areas of eco- cultural- and holistic health related tourism, is a way that we imagine to able to aid in the creation of a substantial upgrade and expansion of the local economy while also stimulating environmental and cultural knowledge. Musical and cultural education creates work opportunities. Hotels and restaurants that offer live music exist already and more are in the making. Together with the other educational projects Terra Una is implementing, Uirapuru is part of a long-term effort to strengthen local entrepreneurship.

There are several examples of how similar projects in Brazil have lead not only to social mobilization and empowerment, but also a commercial success as well as career opportunities. In addition to contributing to economic sustainability, this contributes to fulfilling the goals related to inspiring public awareness of the issues addressed as part of the program. After all, the main information channels are the commercial ones, and participants will be actively encouraged to understand how these work. In today’s world of global integration, innovative methods and ideas can be made accessible throughout many levels of society by empowering young citizens and providing them with tools to actively work to develop their community in a peaceful and effective manner, using music to express them selves and engage their peers.

The Power of Music
Through experience we have seen that social and environmental responsibility can be awakened and strengthened through cultural education. Music is very important in most young peoples lives and plays an active role in spreading values and ideas. This is true all over the world and perhaps even more so in Brazil where the merging of Native American, African and European cultures over the last 500 years has created a unique musical environment in which the messages transmitted through music at many times have been instrumental in keeping hope and courage alive.

Biologic and cultural resources that are abundant yet severely threatened in Brazil today. The two have a lot in common and are closely connected. Working with the preservation diversity of both through an educational program that promotes the meeting and exchange between generations, social groups and world-views, in the creative space of playful musical discovery and togetherness, is the vision we wish to realize through the Uirapuru Program.

Target Groups
The Uirapuru Program has several target groups. They are described below one by one:
- Program Participants (Students)
There will be 16 teenagers in the initial group, 8 girls and 8 boys.
Information about the program will be spread through schools in several towns in the region as well as through the Cultural Centre (Ponto de Cultura) run by Terra Una in the city of Liberdade. Those invited to apply for participation are teenagers from economically underprivileged social groups that take interest in actively contributing to the constructive development of their communities and society as a whole, and want to learn about how to use music for that purpose.
A selection of participants will be made after interviews with all applicants have been carried out. It is important that the most motivated are chosen for participation so that the workshops can be focused and efficient.
- Local Public
Through public presentations in the nearby towns and during the Culture and Sustainability Festival, as well as through local radio stations, inhabitants of the region that are not actively participating in the program will invited to deepen their understanding of the issues dealt with and be inspired by the results presented by the students.
- National and International Public
Through the yearly documentation of the project in the DVD format results are made accessible to a national as well as international public. Future editions of the program are envisioned to contain international student exchanges.
- Professionals in the areas of Education and Social/ environmental Management
The Uirapuru Program will serve as an opportunity for the musical and social educators that are chosen to lead workshops in the program to further develop their methods by applying them in a new context and to be part of a worldwide network of professionals.
- Decision Makers and Media Professionals
Through information and lobbying we aim to inspire the creation of other educational programs with shared goals and values, as well as secure sources of financing for continuation of the program.

Financial Sustainability of the Project
The future sustainability of this project will be guarantied by participation in networks for fundraising on the sides of both NGOs involved in the implementation of the program, as well as active media promotion of the events that it is part of, such as the Culture and Sustainability Festival. Cooperation with artists, sponsoring companies, radio and television production entrepreneurs, and Internet content providers are also possible sources of funding for future editions of the program. Since this is a pilot project and has international connections built into it, we anticipate a certain amount of media coverage, which certainly improves the possibilities of establishing connections that generate future sources of funding. The choice of including the production of a DVD that presents the project as part of it’s realization not only broadens the scope of the pedagogic content, it also serves to give a easily presentable product that can be used by current donors for promotional purposes, as well as to contact sources of future funding.

Description of the Project
The Uirapuru Program gives access to training and information previously not available to youth and children in this social and geographic context and supports them in gaining self-confidence. We consider this one of the most important aspects of the project since self-confidence is the base of positive action. We have seen this clearly while participating and studying projects that provide cultural training worldwide. Participating in the Uirapuru program inspires these young people to discover new creative ways to process the many challenging aspects of their lives and shows them how to share these tools with others. This is done through a variety of activities that together form an integral whole while also presenting tangible results.
The Uirapuru educational program is based on a series of workshops held at the Terra Una eco-village that contain practical and theoretical classes, closely integrated with group exercises designed to stimulate musical and verbal creativity as well as communication and group building skills. In addition to the workshops continuity in the learning process is made possible through the use of e-learning technologies. The workshops are lead by musicians with their origins in various parts of Brazil, thus drawing from the vast variety of musical traditions that exist in the country. For young people to become aware of this great cultural heritage is one of the benefits of participating in the course since it helps them gain overview of their social and cultural context and expands their references, while also stimulating their self-esteem. The teachers are chosen for their musical and pedagogic qualities, in addition to their experience of using music as a medium for social and educational purposes.