Extension

The extension project “Dialogues Circles: Access to Public Services and the Consolidation of Citizenship” aims to stimulate and strengthen the formation of discussion groups on public services, constitutional rights, and the consolidation of citizenship in public primary and secondary schools in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro. Acting as mediators, the project implementers aim to develop communication channels between academia and the school community, exchanging theoretical frameworks, statistical and empirical data, lived experiences, and practical knowledge that highlight and problematize the relationships between the state and the scale of everyday life in which collective and citizen practices unfold.

The implementers participate in workshops on the themes addressed by the project, within the scope of the Public Management for Economic and Social Development course at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, with the purpose of preparing them for the presentations, dialogue circles, and debates that will take place in the public schools linked to the project.

The dialogue with schools is very important to establish the agenda of priority themes for each educational unit. Although the project focuses on access to public services, the goal is to encourage discussion group members in the educational units to define the specific themes to be prioritized in the discussions. The debates will be mediated by students (undergraduate and graduate) directly involved in the operation of this extension project, with the responsibility of the project’s instructors to prepare the student-mediators to fulfill their roles by providing theoretical references, concrete experiences, methodologies, or any other information deemed necessary.

The project coordinators will seek to develop dynamic communication strategies that promote interdisciplinarity, such as the use of different forms of artistic expression, social media, or other tools that encourage involvement and interaction among discussion group members. Visits to the University and the development of dialogue circles in public spaces may also be planned. Emphasizing the search for new communication methods does not imply abandoning the usual extension activities, such as organizing lectures or courses. On agreed days and locations with the school community, undergraduate and graduate professors and students involved in the extension project will promote the discussion cycles or dialogue circles with the proposed themes.

Get in touch and bring the Dialogue Circles to your school!

Dialogue Circles Team