Here at PUCRS you can take the course you want Courses that will make a difference in your development There are 20 program options in the best graduate courses in the country Renowned teachers and our quality guarantee Courses with different themes and prices for senior citizens Commitment to scientific and technological advancement.   Seeking solutions to the problems of our society.  Contributing to the training of specialists and researchers.   Be one of our researchers and contribute to scientific advancement We value ethics and integrity in our work.   Follow our guidelines for research and laboratory safety Scientific journals available exclusively in electronic media Discover an innovative and entrepreneurial university Discover the connected and global innovation ecosystem Discover the possibilities of an entrepreneurial education We facilitate your search for health and longevity Discover the school with the best medicine course in the country Ensuring an improvement in quality of life is our purpose Our biggest concern is people's health and lives Discover what PUCRS can do for you.    Prioritizing your development and well-being.   Tailored services for whatever your organization needs Cultural and well-being programming.   Contributing to the development of society.   Valuing your learning and talent development.   Hold your event in the most complete complex in the south of the country.   Services and environments that can make your day-to-day life easier Our impactful actions for the community and education Raising funds to finance projects and strategic actions We continue to work alongside the people of Rio Grande do Sul in rebuilding the State We are a community university focused on society A new University for a new society.   We are the best private university in the country and one of the best in the world Revitalization of the 12-story building included structural improvements and restoration of the image of Our Lady of Conception / Photo: Giordano Toldo PUCRS inaugurated the renovation of the tower that houses the image of Our Lady of the Conception The renovation included structural improvements to the 12-story building and restoration of the image built in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre and housed the then Nossa Senhora da Conceição Major Seminary The date chosen to present the preservation repairs to the image of Our Lady of the Conception coincides with the date of its celebration within Catholicism it has been a municipal holiday in honor of the patron saint since 1979 The Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Conceição is the second oldest church in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and the oldest seat of the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre and was built in honor of the saint in 1766 There have been no records indicating that the image of the patron saint has been recovered since the 50s a complete renovation of the support tower was necessary Another important change was the replacement of a large four-faced clock that was no longer working or in a condition to be maintained The final touch to the improvements was the installation of new lighting in the area.  highlighted that the revitalization work is also PUCRS' recognition of the history of this area now occupied by Tecnopuc “The great Seminary of Viamão contributed decisively to the religious formation of the clergy over the decades and to the academic formation of thousands of people who embraced their vocations in these schools Preserving this heritage is honoring the memory of all the people who passed through here and left indelible marks.”.     The space on the central campus in Porto Alegre was close to its maximum capacity in 2004 and the arrival of the park in the Metropolitan Region had been planned in PUCRS' strategic planning for some time With the acquisition of the 15-hectare plot of land the physical transformation of the constructed facilities Construction work intensified in 2012 until the official inauguration in the second half of 2013 the environment received 11 incubators.  some measures were taken to shorten distances such as elevators and wide corridors for mobility scooters and bicycles along with the image of the patron saint of Viamão The inauguration event was attended by the University's rector Brother Evilázio Teixeira / Photo: Giordano Toldo Tecnopuc Viamão became the setting for the ambitious creative industry complex, both with the revitalization of the buildings and the construction of the Audiovisual Technology Center of Rio Grande do Sul – Tecna Its complete structure was inaugurated in November 2019 presenting itself as a creative industry complex created to support national and international audiovisual production.   Tecna's history is intertwined with the need for infrastructure to strengthen the Rio Grande do Sul film which was losing volume of projects to the Rio-São Paulo axis due to the lack of local infrastructure PUCRS entered into a partnership with the Rio Grande do Sul State Department of Culture and the Rio Grande do Sul Cinema Foundation (Fundacine) to officially grant an area to creatives from the audiovisual world studios and areas dedicated to production.  With an internationally rigorous and standard infrastructure equipped with cutting-edge technology for the development of the audiovisual industry Learn about research projects and our researchers information and follow everything that is happening at the University learn about the Fluir program and have access to the main systems Brazil – November 2024 - Adolescents and young people of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) in the Salesian Province of Porto Alegre Brazil (BPA) participated in simultaneous meetings in Guarapuava (PR) Rio do Sul (SC) and Viamão (RS) on 16 November a dream and a mission: the oratory of Don Bosco" and promoted times for reflection and fun The workshops held in the meetings covered important moments in the life of Don Bosco on which the young people reflected on the tenacity and faith of Don Bosco in the face of difficulties and on how he dedicated his life to the mission of educating and evangelising young people The goal was to inspire participants to overcome personal challenges guided by values such as patience and devotion ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007 This site also uses third-party cookies to improve user experience and for statistical purposes By scrolling through this page or by clicking on any of its elements Tricycle is a nonprofit that depends on reader support Lama Padma Samten talks with Buddhist youth about practicing the five wisdoms to improve our lives and transform the world Lama Padma Samten founded the Centro de Estudos Budistas Bodisatva (CEBB) [Buddhist Bodhisattva Study Center] network and numerous urban area centers across Brazil Formerly a professor of physics and leader in the Brazilian environmental movement Lama Samten was ordained by Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche in 1996 The following article is adapted from a Buddhism and Social Action Immersion Course for youth in June at the Caminho do Meio Buddhist Village in Viamao so how can we better use our short and precious existence The Buddha teaches us how to practice five wisdoms which we can encounter when we look inside and observe our minds Derived from the Mahayana Buddhabhumisutra [Scripture on the Stage of Buddhahood] the five wisdoms are aspects of the enlightened mind that pervade every living being without exception Veils of ignorance and disturbing emotions obscure these wisdoms The goal of practice is to cultivate these five wisdoms until they shine forth without obstruction and transform our lives is our capacity to understand others in their own worlds not just human minds or the minds of beings we can ask what would be good for the country We have the capacity to look at things more broadly We can look at beings and see if they need support the Dalai Lama says it is essential that everyone has security and the other foundations of human dignity we no longer focus on what I like or do not like Our mind is capable of seeing what is happening with others The second, the wisdom of equality, is quite essential. This is the ability to rejoice in what happens to others. Once, I heard Chagdud Rinpoche say that if we rejoice only in what happens to us then we don’t have much of a chance for happiness in life if we can rejoice when something goes well for others He pointed out that if a person has a competitive spirit The opposite of jealousy is our ability to look at others we do not need to pursue the cultural narrative of acquiring possessions for happiness If we are too focused on accumulating things and our happiness comes only from what happens to us But if we have the contemplative capacity to rejoice with plants We don’t have to run around the world trying to obtain everything for ourselves we delve into more profound internal phenomena and touch and then look calmly and see how disturbances and outflow arise Outflow is an impulse we have to follow things in a particular direction You may get a job and work toward a career in the private sector But this is not our life—it is a construction When we calm ourselves and really see this “This is all artificial.” You can do this thing This wisdom can also be seen as the wisdom of lucidity—it clarifies the facts So we must take great care of how we act because our actions will produce positive or negative consequences we can practice four specific actions in any environment we find ourselves in The first action is to avoid being disturbed by the appearances we encounter The second is to seek to calm the environments we navigate we try to improve the circumstances of whatever environments we are in and seek to support others in performing positive actions (and avoiding negative actions) The fifth is the wisdom of dharmata [the way things are] which is recognizing how all appearances are inseparable from our minds There is a non-duality between what is seen and the mind that sees This non-duality means that the seen and seer are not separate I practice the wisdom of dharmata by seeing non-duality we can look at a little table and see it as a bench we can see a meditation bench as a place to set books We can also use a meditation bench as a little table We relate to the luminous aspect and not something else that would be inherent in the object This way of relating with the world is luminous action Our life will crucially depend on how we luminously construct the constellation of things we relate to allowing a variety and infinity of things to arise without limit things look solid but are not really solid but our mind is free and can construct other things When we see the difficulties in imagining a positive future in the face of environmental destruction and profound social and political crises we can see this is simply our constructed mental categories appearing These worlds that we live in are nothing but the mental creations of previous generations to imagine the world differently and construct new realities and mental categories for our planetary and ecological age Many new possible directions are emerging simultaneously and though we don’t know which directions have stability or are the best for our new world This glow is a happiness not bound by attachments but a happiness that springs from the lucid perspective of the five wisdoms When we understand things as they are and act in skillful ways Cultivating the five wisdoms can bring about our happiness and collective flourishing for all beings in the world At the CEBB communities [a Buddhist network of retreat and study centers in Brazil] we practice the five wisdoms together as a form of social and ecological transformation We invite people to sit down in a circle together and begin luminously visioning and dreaming new worlds This collective visioning and dreaming is the practice of mandala The mandala is the five wisdoms in action that bring together individual visions and create and build collective dreams Through the self-organization of mandalas at CEBB we have created a network of ten rural Buddhist villages We developed the Caminho do Meio (Middle Way) Institute operate three transformative schools and two agroecological test and education sites We also supported the indigenous Mbyá-Guarani in their retaking of traditional lands And now the Caminho do Meio Institute is affiliated with the United Nations so we can bring our experiences to the global stage and translate what is happening globally back to our communities Practicing the five wisdoms not only brings about our own happiness these wisdoms can be the basis for our collective flourishing Ana Nedochetko and Klaus Reishtatter contributed to this translation Thank you for subscribing to Tricycle! As a nonprofit, to keep Buddhist teachings and practices widely available Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Already a subscriber? Log In Subscribe now to read this article and get immediate access to everything else Discover what over 30,000 subscribers have access to Full access to 30+ years of content with over 7,775 articles Continuous new writings from leading Buddhist teachers and New York Times bestselling authors Take an online Buddhism course at your own pace Please check your email to confirm your subscription Would you like to sign up for our other mailing lists By continuing, you agree to Tricycle’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service Festa marca o início simbólico da colheita que deve se estender até abril - Foto: Pedro Stropasolas A day to celebrate the fight for agrarian reform and its fruits for the Brazilian people and nature with about 5,000 attendees from all over the country political leaders and special guests – and That’s how the 20th Agroecological Rice Harvest Party held by the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST happened last Friday (17) at Filhos de Sepé Settlement in the city of Viamão part of Porto Alegre’s metropolitan region the capital city of Rio Grande do Sul state.  The friends and supporters of the MST arrived early there was already a long line of buses and cars at the entrance of the settlement they were greeted by a fair of agrarian reform products the production of the MST cooperatives offered items such as juices as well as the movement's organic rice Currently, the Movement’s cooperatives are the top producers of organic rice in Latin America. They estimate this harvest to be about 16,000 tons. Besides gathering supporters and the settlement’s residents to debate the challenges of continuing and expanding the rice production the Party ends up becoming a great moment to meet people and celebrate achievements The traditional moment presented by the MST in its events opened the day The artistic intervention drew the line between the huge differences between agribusiness and family farming agroecological production workers’ degrading conditions and the enrichment of few people These situations were represented by multinational pesticide companies the diversity and strength of rural and urban people’s fights were represented by young and old men and women There was also respect for the environment and caring for people's social well-being and health both represented by the abundance of the agroecological way of production and social movements fights which organize oppressed people’s struggles There was also a study moment that focused on Human Rights and Food The panel was attended by Juliano Sá the president of the Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security Council of Rio Grande do Sul state (Consea-RS She called nutritionist Bruna Crioula from the audience to the stage Bruna hailed the work of community kitchens in the fight against hunger Juliano recalled that hunger has started to affect Brazilians again since the dismantling of food public policies a process carried out after the coup against former President Dilma Rousseff in 2016 He highlighted the crucial role of social movements to mitigate the problem “While the agribusiness profited and exported soybean community and solidarity kitchens and gardens.” the symbolic ceremony to start the harvest was held by residents of the settlement at the rice plantation The act underlined the production that made the MST the largest producer of organic rice in Latin America It’s 3,200 hectares cultivated under the responsibility of 352 families from 22 settlements in Rio Grande do Sul state The main types of rice are long-grain white rice and brown rice.  One of the most anticipated moments of the event the political act was attended by ministers from the Lula government and dozens of political leaders and parliamentarians from many leftist parties as well as representatives of some of the movement’s partner entities said he brought “a hug and the appreciation President Lula has for the MST.” He listed some of the federal government’s measures focusing on the population such as an increase in the minimum wage and guaranteeing the 600-reais Family Grant (Bolsa Família He also mentioned specific actions aimed at family farming such as resuming the Food Acquisition Program (PAA in Portuguese) “to bring food to people” under the management of Edegar Pretto who will be the president of the National Supply Company (Conab ::  :: “Public purchases will be made from family farmers” He added that the agrarian reform program has changed “The most effective way to tackle poverty in rural areas is by guaranteeing workers access to land and credit I advocate for a cooperative occupation model based on agro-villages with structure and the internet," he said.  The minister also mentioned actions for rural education and credit shuffle and the opportunities presented by a transition to ecological and regenerative agriculture “I want to salute the biofertilizers initiative We will promote agricultural inputs to this production fish and small slaughterhouses to sell chicken meat.” Edegar Pretto reinforced his commitment to those who suffer from hunger "No service will be forgotten when we be heading to Conab the company is part of the Ministry of Agrarian Development a decision that shows the political will of granting more responsibilities to Conab the policy will focus on strengthening farmers "Everyone who chooses to grow food should know that the Lula government will be your biggest customer." The future president of Conab also said that family farmers riverside communities and traditional communities will be able to produce food with certainty of sales and income “School lunches can no longer be biscuits and artificial juice,” he added “Harvest has always been a celebration moment” Representing the MST’s national leadership João Pedro Stédile pointed out that the Agroecological Rice Harvest Party reproduces what peasants have always done since the beginning of human history “The harvest is always a moment of celebration.” This celebration “We are facing two philosophical and worldview models: one of death represented by agribusiness and large estates represented by family farming and agroecology,” he said Brazilian society is facing these two paths “and it is not about the MST or the ruralists ::  :: He says that Lula’s election opened the doors That’s why he thinks the government must take a leap in quality “It’s not enough to have a government for the people That’s what we will demand as partners [of the government],” he stated Stédile argues that the crisis in the capitalist system did not end yet and the current production system has no use for humanity the great enemies of the popular government are the banks and the multinational companies that control the country’s Central Bank and economic policies “We are not going to change that by complaining keep organizing popular committees and militants into small groups [We need to] encourage people to fight for another project of nation,” he added the MST launched the Ana Primavesi Bioinput Production Unit The initiative is the first biofactory of Grupo Gestor do Arroz for the production of biological fertilizers it enables production planning throughout the year increasing productivity and guaranteeing autonomy for the MST producers.  the use of this bioinput was implemented in two research areas on 28 hectares As for the next harvest – 2023/2024 – bioinputs will be used in the entire production of organic rice in the settlements of Viamão All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced provided it is not altered and proper credit is given All original content produced and editorially authored by Brasil de Fato may be reproduced (ANS - Porto Alegre) - Among the many Salesian entities that took advantage of the weeks of July to organize youth missionary expeditions there is also the "St Pius X" Province of Brazil-Porto Alegre (BPA) the Salesian presences of Guarapuava (State of Paraná) Rio do Sul (State of Santa Catarina) and Porto Alegre and Rio Grande (State of Rio Grande do Sul) have become mission lands for about 340 people Coordinated by the Youth Mission Animation (AMJ a missionary volunteer project with teenagers from the BPA Province the large team of "missionaries," divided into smaller groups visited as many as 1,631 families in different stages during the period July 10-27 "We were very happy to have been able to give dynamism to this project of ours and to carry it out in presence we had been able to carry it out exclusively online dreams and above all to have a good experience of Salesian missionary volunteerism," testified Fr Provincial Delegate for Salesian Youth Ministry The missions in Paraná State were hosted by the "Dom Bosco" educational institute and "Dom Bosco" parish in Guarapuava it was the Salesian institute "Dom Bosco" and the parish dedicated to St Jude in Rio do Sul that hosted the missionaries the three missionary animation projects were held simultaneously with children and youth hosted by the "Dom Bosco" institute in Viamão and the "Dom Bosco" institute in Santa Rosa and the "Leão XIII" institute in Rio Grande MST é o maior produtor de arroz orgânico da América Latina - Pedro Stropasolas/Brasil de Fato It doesn't take poison or forced labor to eliminate weeds to manage more adequately the water flowing through the kilometers of pipelines that irrigate the plantation of needle rice – or cateto rice Neither are chemical fertilizers necessary to increase land productivity It is possible to recover ancestral knowledge and organize mass production in a bioinput factory the farming families of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil have insisted on the mission of producing organic rice balancing income generation with respect for the environment The pioneers had to develop their own cultivation method and compete for space with agribusiness and its way of planting MST agroecological rice gained prominence in the political debate by appearing according to the Rio Grandense Rice Institute (Irga) as the largest organic production in Latin America Thanks to the knowledge accumulated by the farmers themselves – and with some help from universities and local public organizations – both the planted area and total production are growing even in the face of a shrinking national rice production in Brazil “Agribusiness asks: ‘How can you produce rice without poison and without chemical fertilizers?’ We use nature itself to give us what we need,” says agricultural technician Ivan Carlos Prado Pereira son of agrarian reform settlers and an organic rice producer since 2010 At the 20th Agroecological Rice Harvest Festival held in March this year at the Filhos de Sepé Settlement in Viamão (Rio Grande do Sul State) the movement celebrated the production longevity and presented news such as the inauguration of a bioinput factory and the implementation of a participatory organic certification process from the production sector of the MST in Rio Grande do Sul innovations in the production chain seek to generate autonomy for farming families creating viable alternatives to the so-called “conventional planting” in which pesticides and chemical fertilizers produced by large industries are used “The farmer in this scenario never has autonomy and is always at the mercy of the price game played by these large corporations” in addition to recovering the lands worn down by agribusiness where settlements are normally established seeks to involve the entire settled community in the different stages of production – “planning which is being this instrument of involving families directly in production is sometimes seen as a production for men only But we have room for everyone and we can involve youth and women in rice production” where half of the agroecological rice planted area in the state is located brings together some of the pioneers who started production in the early 2000s Leonildo Zang is one of those pioneers in the cultivation of rice with no use of poisons and chemical fertilizers.“It was our initiative who says he participated in the first MST Congress Zang has lived in the settlement for 24 years and has seen agreocology win the dispute with the agribusiness model Settled families and organic production coexist with native species from the springs dams and water courses of the Banhado dos Pachecos Wildlife Refuge part of the Banhado Grande Environmental Protection Area Due to an intervention by the Brazilian Federal Public Ministry (MPF) and the successful experience of some of the settlers who the use of pesticides is prohibited throughout the entire settlement poison and non-poison crops coexisted for about a decade son of the pioneer Leonildo and researcher at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) the settlement became a reference in three main landmarks By producing rice on a large scale and "opposing the discourse that agroecology does not feed humanity" By organizing community management – "and not individual" – of the water resources used in the plantation And for associating the production and water management to the "larger context of environmental preservation" “Production is not antagonistic to conservation as long as they coexist and we can look at indicators that go beyond productivity” “We are not just producing food: the agroecology project produces life” The blow of the coup interrupted growth  Public policies aimed at agroecology and family farming were discontinued or defunded in Brazil mainly after the coup against Dilma Rousseff (Workers' Party) in 2016 and the arrival of Michel Temer (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party) to power which had investments of R$1.3 billion in 2012 (approximately US$263 million) has shrunk to R$135 million in 2021 (approximately $25 million) The National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture (Pronaf) and the National School Feeding Program (Pnae) also suffered budget cuts Without being able to count on public policies for the disposal of production a part of the organic rice harvested ended up going to the “mass grave” sold at the same price of conventional rice the president of the Residents Association of the Filhos de Sepé Settlement “The appreciation of our product and respect for agroecological production were abandoned” mentioning the priority given by these programs to the acquisition of organic products coming from family farming.   having to look for the conventional market or the wholesale market to try to sell our product” president of the Nova Santa Rita Agricultural Production Cooperative (Copan) responsible for 300 hectares of agroecological rice cultivation.  The downfall was due to the fact that 80% of what the cooperative sells is destined for school lunches “We prioritize food on children's plates but they are not always implemented the way we want.”  and the area planted with agroecological rice reduced drastically but has been recovering year after year (see infographic above) “Our biggest challenge is to maintain production to keep our territory free from pesticides “We lost many areas because there is agribusiness nearby putting poison on top of production The MST concentrated its mobilization force on the electoral campaign and from the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) expects the resumption of agrarian reform with a focus on policies to strengthen agroecology The Cooperative of Settled Workers in the Porto Alegre Region (Cootap) is MST’s largest rice producer and expects to increase the planted area by 25% for the next harvest president of the cooperative and member of the Agroecological Rice Management Group says that the resumption of public policies should facilitate rice commercialization.“With bigger sales The challenges of difficult times also provoked the movement to innovate as a way forward.  The protagonism of women and youth and the modernization of production draw attention.  was born in the same year the cooperative was founded it is difficult to stay in the countryside which is why we often end up losing young people to agribusiness or to other networks” “It's a victory to stay here and fight for these principles that are those of our parents and friends” Agribusiness is planting soybeans where rice used to be planted The high production costs and the "facilities" of soybeans have led farmers to switch crops The planted area has been decreasing year after year as well as that of beans and other favorite foods on the Brazilian table The expectation is that this year's harvest will be the smallest in 26 years according to the National Supply Company (Conab).  The MST wants to propose an agroecological future for rice in Brazil Without imported pesticides and chemical fertilizers on the bill And with the manufacture of bioinputs on a large scale the movement points to a gain in productivity of the planted areas with the recovery of the vitality of the land where the settlements are located commonly devastated by agribusiness activities celebrates the improvement of production techniques in recent years but recognizes the challenges that lie ahead in infrastructure for the settlers to produce in a more adequate way “We have great expectations with the government about resuming effective technical assistance in the settlements focused on agroecology but also mainly to feed Brazilian society in a healthy way” one of the pioneers in agroecological rice production in the Capela Settlement in Nova Santa Rita (Rio Grande do Sul state) believes that investments in new technologies and structure will raise MST production to new levels he claims that planting without poison is already more profitable in all aspects compared to agribusiness production.  "The organic product is worth a little more In addition to being economically equivalent to conventional planting for us there is another factor that is priceless which is the preservation of everything we preach" is currently making an Animation Visit to the "Saint Pius X" Province of Brazil-Porto Alegre Meetings are planned with the Salesian Family with Salesians and with the young people of the Salesian Houses of that Province which this year celebrates the 60th anniversary of its foundation and its service of the young the Rector Major met with the Salesians working in the state of Rio Grande do Sul Artime began his conversation with the Salesians saying I know the Salesian world because in the last four years I have visited many countries where Salesians work and donate their lives We do much good for young people and families The Congregation maintains a great fidelity to Don Bosco and lives its consecration to God as Salesians in a very serene way." The Rector Major spoke about the kind of Salesians that are needed for the future He emphasized the importance of the formation of the Salesians and pointed out some challenges such as better bearing witness to the beauty of consecrated life and a fraternity that is attractive he received the promise of new members of the Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA) of Viamão and Porto Alegre and the promise of new Salesian Cooperators He then blessed the icon of the Good Shepherd which will cross the Salesian houses of the Province the X Successor of Don Bosco visited Curitiba where he met the Salesians of the States of Santa Catarina and Paraná and later the Salesians in formation We feel challenged to respond in a meaningful and courageous way to our mission of educating and evangelizing All the photos of the visit are available on ANSFlickr