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The Brazilian government and Brazilian civil society will share 300 square meters in Caracas, Venezuela. The stand, denominated Brazil's Space, is part of the American edition of the World Social Forum, which will take place in Venezuela from January 24 to 29.
The government's section of the stand is sponsored by Petrobras - Brazilian Petroleum S.A. - and will present social projects, such as Zero Hunger, Light for All, and the Mercosur Citizen (with exhibitions of films produced by Mercosur countries). Salete Valesan, of the International Council of the World Social Forum, said she hopes that the exchange of information made possible by Brazil's Space will lead to closer cultural ties, especially among the countries of Latin America. "One example might be through community radios, which generally play an active role in the forums. Agreements could be worked out for the exchange of news and music." The American edition of the World Social Forum will show that the process of Latin American integration constitutes a priority for the countries of the region, according to Giorgio Romano, international affairs adviser in the office of the Presidency. "Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Venezuela have the same priority as our government, which is the advancement of democracy in South America and policies for the distribution of income - which is Latin America's chief problem - and all this within a framework assigning priority to Latin American integration," Romano observed. The Brazilian government expects at least 12 ministries and secretariats to participate in the event. Five ministers plan to attend in person. Romano affirmed that, for the government, the dialogue with civil society is the most important aspect, and he pointed out that the World Social Forum is the principal space for this debate. Agência Brasil
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