Press Releases

Ford Foundation Office in Brazil Marks 45th Anniversary

21 November 2007—The Ford Foundation is celebrating the anniversary of one of its first regional offices. We have been making grants in Brazil for 45 years. The Brazil office, based in Rio de Janeiro, was established in 1962 to help reduce poverty and injustice and encourage democratic practices throughout the country. Since then, we have broadened our focus to address issues surrounding environment and development, governance and civil society, human rights, sexuality and reproductive health, education, and the media. For the last decade, the office's grant making has averaged $13 million annually.

Expanding Support

The Ford Foundation has been working with innovative people and organizations to address the changing needs of the country. Recently, the Brazil office has been supporting efforts to strengthen natural resources, broaden access to land, preserve the environment and expand development opportunities for disadvantaged communities.

In addition to supporting research centers, academic institutions and movements that promote democratic values, we have worked to improve transparency in policy making and governance, strengthen international relationships and develop effective public security policies. We also support efforts to protect people's rights, combat human rights abuses and discrimination, increase awareness about issues surrounding gender and sexuality, and expand care, treatment and prevention services for people afflicted with HIV/AIDS.

In 2004, the office established a Special Media Fund to help promote public dialogue about the rights and autonomy of Brazilian media. Addressing key issues about freedom of expression and media reform has been at the forefront of this work.

With the 2001 launch of two key foundation education programs—the International Fellowships Program and Pathways to Higher Education —we seized an important opportunity to further the need for education and help underrepresented communities in Brazil who would benefit from access to higher education institutions. To date, more than 210 IFP fellows have been selected from Brazil.

To learn more about our work from Brazil, read the Ford Foundation brochure about the Rio office and visit us online.

Photo:
Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia.