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The Special Secretariat of Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality (SEPPIR) and the Ministry of Education signed, this May 25, an agreement for the distribution of maps of Brazil and of the African continent, for all Brazilian public and private schools.
The partnership supplements a 2003 law that makes mandatory the teaching of African history and culture in the schools of Brazil.
"By next year, we expect that libraries and schools already offer subjects through which students may learn about Africa's history, and what it represents to our country," explained SEPPIR's Minister, Matilde Ribeiro.
The protocol was signed during the celebration of the Africa Day at the Ministry of Foreign Relations, with the presence of the Ambassadors of Nigeria, Joseph Egbuson, and of Cameroon, Mbarga Nguele.
On a speech on behalf of the President of the African Union, Olugesun Obasanjo, the Nigerian Ambassador said, "Africa counts on the partnership of countries like Brazil to overcome the past and painful experiences."
And revealed that the goal for Africa is to intensify bilateral relations, simplify bureaucracy, and reduce corruption in the next years.
The Africa Day, May 25th, is celebrated on the date in which, in 1963, 32 Heads of African States created the Organization for African Unity, known today as the African Union.
The group intended to avoid the colonization and subordination the continent had undergone for several centuries.
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