The Instituto Lula has published a series of reports of its activities, including the paid seminars in which by former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva participated through his company LILS. The reports are divided into Digital Projects, Latin America Initiative, International Activities and Africa Initiative (two reports).
Paulo Okamotto, president of Instituto Lula, said that the reports are part of the Instituto Lula’s mission to preserve the memory of recent Brazilian history when “democracy surpassed the limits of formal representation through the vote and won the soul of the people to return development and reduce the historic social inequality of the country”.
This memory, which permeates the popular governments of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff since 2003, highlights the policies which resulted in 36 million people leaving the lowest poverty levels and around 40 million ascending to a higher standard of living.
Okamotto explains that these governments were the result of a long history of political and social struggle which initially started with the fight for the reestablishment of democracy in the 19870s and 80s.
“Democracy and social conquests can suffer setbacks, but these setbacks cannot erase the past nor stop the inexorable march of our people,” wrote Okamotto.
Each report – published in Portuguese only – can be download as a PDF file which contain the motivations, descriptions and results of the actions of Instituto Lula. The aim is not only to preserve but also to serve as a reference of public policies in poverty relief and social programs for the whole world.
Digital Projects – This report contains on-line activities that aim to organize and preserve the actions of Lula’s two terms in office between 2003 and 2010. The report is divided into four parts:
1. The Instituto Lula Portal – the portal brings together all the initiatives and principal communication interface with the general public
2. The Presidential Collection – this contains news items, documents and images of Lula’s activities while he was president between 2003 and 2010.
3. Brazil of Change – this contains the main social and development programs implemented by the Lula administration such as the Bolsa Familia, gender equality and programs, making available documents, pictures and info-graphs.
4. Memorial for Democracy – an on-line museum about the Brazilian people’s struggle for democracy and social justice. The museum has documents, videos, audios and pictures of the important marks in Brazilian history stretching from colonial times to the democratic advances in from the early 2000s.
Latin America Initiative – This 44-page document aims to promote regional integration beyond commercial interests, in order to establish balanced economic and social development between the countries in the region, helping the region to rise as a recognized and respected actor in the global community. With regular partnerships with development promotion institution and research centers such as the The Union of South American Nations (Unasul), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac), Latin American Development Bank (CAF) and the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB), Lula made 36 trips to countries in the region and participated in at least 88 events during the five yeas o existence of the Instituto Lula.
International Activities – The report outlines Lula’s activities as a speaker and as a promoter of social development abroad, taking advantage of various invitations that he received to participate in events abroad, to receive prizes and commendations after the end of his presidential term. In his activities abroad, Lula focuses on promotion of peace and democracy, social development and highlights the experiences of public policies and social programs that have become reference for dozens of emerging market economies. The report also includes partnerships with several national and international institutions such as Unicef, African Union, the UN’s FAO, the Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) and the World Food Programme.
Africa Initiative (Full report and Balance of activities) – Since 2011, when the Instituto Lula was created, Africa has been one of the main focus of its activities. The initiative, led by the institute’s director, Celso Marcondes, works together with academics, ambassadors, social and cultural leaders, students, multilateral agencies and governments to promote the debate about hunger and poverty eradication. In 2015, after having participated in 75 seminars and meetings to discuss Brazil-African issues, the Instituto Lula created the Africa Council, made up of 40 Brazilian Africa specialists. Partnerships were signed with the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Community of Portuguese speaking countries (CPLP), the bill Clinton Foundation, Africarcare, Plan Foundation, United Nations Development Program OXFAM, Nelson Mandela Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Steve Biko Foundation.
Paid Seminars Report – this includes all paid seminars that Lula was invited to between 2011 and 2015, in Brazil and abroad, through his company LILS. It gives a chronological order of all events, with details such as dates, locations and contents.
