São Paulo – The respect towards other cultures is a feature of the immigration to Brazil. So said Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) cultural director Silvia Antibas (pictured above) in the debate “The Relevance of Intercultural Dialogue” held online on Monday (26) in the closing day of the 9th LatinArab Film Festival hosted by Argentina’s Cine Fertil.
Aside from some exceptions, Antibas said the immigrants, including the Arabs, were welcomed in Brazil. “Respect for other cultures is a feature of immigration to Brazil,” she said, providing figures from a recent survey disclosed by the ABCC, showing that the Arabs and their descendants reach almost 12 million people in the country, accounting for 6% of the population.
Antibas said the ABCC announced last week, during the Economic Forum Brazil & Arab Countries, the creation of the digital version of the Arab House, which will be a portal devoted to discussing culture and immigration. Before telling the news, Antibas said dialogue about liberal arts and social sciences are strong within the academy in Brazil.
Antibas also mentioned how diverse the Arab countries are in culture and lifestyle, just as Latin American countries. “And this exercise in dialogue and respect for other cultures is something we have to keep practicing within the Arab world and Latin America,” the cultural director said.
The debate featured scholars from different Latin American countries and was moderated by Geraldo Adriano Campos, coordinator at Brazil’s Center for Arab and Islamic Studies (CEAI). The debate was streamed on the YouTube channel of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLASCO), an institution created via an initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
