Young leaders from the Global Shapers Community, a group representing more than 20 African countries including Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia from met today with former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as part of the “Meet the Leaders” program organized by the World Economic Forum for Africa meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. The Global Shapers Community brings together young people who are exceptional in their achievements and their contributions to social, political or business organizations in their communities, an initiative organized by the World Economic Forum.
To download a high-resolution photographs, visit Instituto Lula’s Picasa.
Lula answered questions from the young activists and told them how he became involved with politics, about his path to the presidency of Brazil and the social transformations in his country in the last 12 years; citing the emergence of 36 million people from extreme poverty, the elevation of 42 million people to the middle class, the creation of 21 million jobs in the formal sector and the increase from 3 million to 7 million in the number of university students in Brazil.
The young people asked him about his commitment to Brazil-Africa relations, social programs in Brazil and the importance of political participation and activism. One young Egyptian asked if the best solution for change was the institutional struggle, or the destruction of the political system. Lula recalled the history of re-democratization in Latin America, with the assumption of power by a number of progressive governments. “In history there are no examples that show that when politics is abandoned, what comes after is an improvement,” said the former president, recalling the case of Egypt itself where the government of Mubarak was overturned and Morsi was elected, and then the elected president was removed returning the military to power. Large event the organization and political awareness is the way to promote changes democratically, citing himself as an example along with President Dilma Rousseff, and the president of Uruguay, Pepe Mujica, who fought against dictatorships and later became presidents of their countries.
