Omi-Dúdù – Nucleus for Reclaiming and Preserving African Brazilian Culture, Bahia State

Omi-Dúdù develops action to value the Black community by establishing partnerships with various segments of the Brazilian National Black Movement and working with youth through cultural and vocational training.

The Nucleus performs activities in social and personal training and human rights, conducts courses in various areas, talks, workshops, meetings, and seminars (known as “actions for life”), produces events, like launching books and videos that value Black culture, and provides training on gender and race issues.

Omi-Dúdù also refers complaints on human rights violations to national and international forums and conducts a permanent campaign against police brutality and death squads.

Another initiative is training grassroots leaders in political, economic, and social activism.

The Project

The project “Political Communication and Communications Policies: a Course for 40 Social Leaders from the Black Movement in Bahia” takes a training approach.

On the eve of Brazil’s 2010 election campaign, the proposal is to include diversity and democratic pluralism in the communications media. The course aims to train the leaders to produce alternative media products, specifically teaching them practical activities in producing print and radio communications.

The idea for the project was based on the observed lack of investments in training for leaders to dialogue with government in a kind of political communication that would reflect such knowledge. The initiative includes a total of 30 organizations and 10 independent leaders.

With the project, Omi-Dúdù intends to overcome the difficulties and barriers in establishing contacts and intervening in the political contact of messages appearing in the mass media.

The social leaders include young people involved in cultural movements and neighborhood associations, women, union and student leaders, and activists in the struggle against race, gender, and class prejudice. They will learn a range of communications and media tools and mechanisms.