> Escoceses opinam: independência ou segurança do Reino Unido?
Matéria publicada no Terra, em 17 de setembro de 2014, com a opinião de três escoceses sobre o referendo que decidiria a independência de seu país do Reino Unido.
[ Feature published on the Brazilian news website Terra, on 17th September, 2014, with the opinion of three Scottish about the referendum which would decide their independence from the United Kingdom. ]
Matéria para o jornal Brasil Observer, de Londres, publicada na edição de 11 de setembro de 2014, sobre o novo estúdio de capoeira em Birmingham que pretende ser um centro cultural brasileiro.
Feature for the Brasil Observer, newspaper based in London, published on 11th September, 2014, about a new capoeira studio in Birmingham, which aims to be a new Brazilian cultural centre.
Entrevista e foto publicadas na edição 190, de agosto de 2014, da revista Ensino Superior com Abhinay Muthoo, diretor da faculdade de Economia da Universidade de Warwick, sobre como as instituições podem garantir sua saúde financeira.
[ Interview and photo for the magazine Ensino Superior, published on the issue 190, August, 2014, with Abhinay Muthoo, head of Economics at th University of Warwick, about what institutions can do in order to keep their financial health. ]
Claims that a Birmingham suburb was turning into a “favela” hit the headlines of two local newspapers in the West Midlands.
Rio On Watch’s website published a response to the article, criticising politicians who made the comparison and journalists for publicising “comments that perpetuate the deeply damaging favela stigma”.
So the Birmingham Post wanted to know what I think about the matter. Some of my quotes were published on this Thursday edition (print, as picture on the left, and online), and that’s the core of I had written to the editor.
Here’s the full article by me – as I explain on it, I’m not from a favela, but journo friends who cover and/or had covered those communities in Rio helped me in trying to pass an accurate view of the reality:
“To the eyes of a Brazilian, the differences between Selly Oak and favelas are as big as the Atlantic Ocean.
The difficulties in those areas of Rio go beyond peeling paint and mildewed curtains (including limited water supply to some parts and the persistent stigma of having their place likened to litter, crammed spaces and violence).
However, some of these communities have evolved over the years to the extent that they might have “the potential to contribute to a sustainable model of future urban development”, as Rio On Watch’s website says. That’s controversial.
I am a journalist from Brazil, who has lived in south Birmingham for most of my time in the UK. I’m not from a favela, but I do keep in touch with colleagues who work actively in these communities in Rio. According to them, several of these places are models of organization and life in society.
In this point of view, the affirmation that Birmingham would be “lucky” in having the first favela in Britain could make sense. Historically with limited financial resources and the governments’ help, the spirit of cooperation developed among their residents is natural and inspiring.
People are not ashamed to say they live in one of the 1,000 favelas in Rio. Moreover, in the last five years, they became proud in saying so, due to the international interest over these communities.
The negative connotation of the term was applied in the comparison between Selly Oak and favelas as a way of gaining attention, more than actually reflecting on the reality faced in that part of Birmingham. That did not go well either among some fellow expats who live here (including a Brazilian student based in Selly Oak). They support the comments made on Rio On Watch’s website.
It was not by chance that the claim was made after Brazil being extensively broadcasted for Britain during the World Cup. It’s a shame that that was the impression left of my country by the coverage of the British media. We are much more than this, Brummies.
Plus, litter strewn is not an exclusive problem of Selly Oak, unfortunately – some favelas in Rio might be cleaner, thanks to the pride their residents take in the place.
Different parts of Birmingham suffer with the same plague. I wish the city council could do a more efficient job in cleaning the suburbs, raising awareness among the community about the issue or whatever the reason of such negligence might be. I pay taxes, by the way.
In my opinion, no part of Birmingham has the potential to be a favela. If it does, I hope it could be with the strong sense of community and support typical among its residents.”
> Berimbau marca o ritmo em Birmingham
Matéria para o jornal Brasil Observer, de Londres, publicada na edição de 8 de maio de 2014, sobre 4º Festival Internacional de Capoeira em Birmingham – parte da programação social do Festival Internacional de Dança da cidade neste ano.
> Birmingham embraces Brazilian rhythm
Feature for the Brasil Observer, newspaper based in London, published on 8th May, 2014, about the 4th Capoeira International Festival, to be held in Birmingham – part of the International Dance Festival Birmingham 2014’s social events programme.
Matéria para o jornal Brasil Observer, de Londres, publicada na edição de 27 de fevereiro de 2014, sobre o grupo Ex Cathedra e seu trabalho com a música barroca brasileira.
Feature for the Brasil Observer, newspaper based in London, published on 27th February, 2014, about the Ex Cathedra choir and its research work into the Brazilian Baroque music.
Entrevista com o Dr. Jonathan Grix, da Universidade de Birmingham, para a revista Ensino Superior, publicada no número 183 de dezembro de 2013, sobre as oportunidades de negócio com investimento em esporte em universidades.
[ Interview with Dr Jonathan Grix, from the University of Birmingham, for the magazine Ensino Superior, published on the issue 183, December 2013, about business oportunities with investments in sports at universities. ]
Fotos: Melissa Becker
Since I’ve moved to the UK, I am thrilled to hear any opportunities for meeting new people and networking. It seems to me that Birmingham offers these chances in an especial way, having a great variety of meet ups and social events related to all sorts of subjects.
Last Saturday, the Birmingham Blognix – The Blogger Picnic with a Twist was one of these nice chances, and personally quite “educative”, since I could learn a lot with experienced bloggers (in case you missed, click here to read the first part of my Blognix experience).
It was so inspiring! Overall, the whole experience made me see some ideas I had since I’ve moved to Birmingham (but was unsure about them) in a new, refreshing perspective.
Here some of the interesting people I met (and whose blogs we could watch for inspiring ideas).
Elizabeth Sellers, from Rosalilium, was the Birmingham Blognix organiser, and she did a great job. I haven’t met her before and just started reading her blog after registering to the event, but, as you could see in the photo above, she is smiling and charismatic.
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I can’t put into words how happy I was to find a Brazilian Brigadeiro, by Karen, aka Miss Apple’s Sweets, on the “welcome pack” at Blognix. I met Karen very recently (and she was the person who told me about the event) and this was the first time I had the opportunity to try her gourmet brigadeiro.
This is a typical Brazilian sweet, “mandatory” in any birthday party in our childhood and in many “after party” moments in our teen years in Brazil. Yes, that’s how important that delightful little smooth chocolate ball is. If you are a chocolover, you must try.
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Jesse Audubey, from Hecticophilia, is a French blogger who writes about the London’s cultural life to other expats. We had good chats along the day, and it was very nice to share ideas with her. By the way, she was patient while I was trying to find the best light for this photo, following Hazel‘s instructions!
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Here is Amy Elizabeth, from Amyliz.co.uk, taking some shots around the Custard Factory during our photography workshop.
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This is Ashleigh Millward, from 25to30. How sweet is her cupcake dress?
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Great to met you all!
Last Saturday was an inspirational day. I went to the Birmingham Blognix – The Blogger Picnic with a Twist, organised by Elizabeth Sellers, from Rosalilium.
We got great tips from experienced speakers and delicious cakes, made by some of the attendees! Now my head is full of fresh ideas and I can’t wait to start putting into practice (the change of colours in this blog is just a little one). It was stimulating to meet such enthusiastic bloggers. During the day, I tried to practice a little bit of photography, the subject of one of the workshops. So expect a lot of images in this post.
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The first speaker was Jen Holmes, from A Little Bird Told Me, who talked about working with PRs (photo below). It’s something I do often on my work as a journalist, but the relationship between a PR and a blogger is slightly different (or, at least, my own is).
I was glad to see Jen mentioning disclosure: “always disclose when you’ve been paid to feature something”. When I used to work for a newspaper, all the press trips we joined were clearly stated to readers as “invitations”.
Emma Cossey, from The Freelance Lifestyle, was the following speaker, pointing out useful social media tools and techniques (I will definitely apply many of them on my next projects). She mentioned good examples of bloggers who are creating a community around their blogs, such as El, from A Thrifty Mrs, who was on the schedule to talk about Blogging as a Career, but unfortunately could not join us.
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Then we had some time to walk around the venue, the Custard Factory – a place to vintage’s lovers, but where I’m not very often able to pay a visit. I’ve never seen it so lively as in this sunny Saturday, there was a vintage fair going on and other activities around.
I had a quick chat (and some popcorns!) with Rickie, while she was spreading the word about Yelp.
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Back to the Zellig Building, it was time for some (more) food. In an event where many of the participants were lifestyle bloggers, that’s a serious matter.
The word “picnic” was not merely there to attract more attendees. No. We actually had an indoor picnic!
It was a lovely idea that made the event more pleasant and relaxing for us, all we need on a Saturday.
A cake competition was another “attraction”. I must say I didn’t prepared anything (shame on me!), but all the sweets composed a very nice table and added to the picnic atmosphere.
By the way, did you notice a blue bag among the cakes? Not by chance: that was the prize for the best one, by a new brand of leather goods in England called Brit Stitch. Another lovely model was the Daisy one (missed the oportunity to take a shot), made exclusively for Blognix.
Maybe because my mother had worked in the shoes sector of a department store, maybe because Brazilian shoes have a very good quality and the country is a big exporter, I am quite picky when it comes to leather goods. So I was happy to see these fine models (and they do deliver in Brazil – shipping cost: £30 per bag).
And the winner was… the most colourful cake I’ve ever eaten (and a really good one).
I’ve also tried one of the sweets made by Kiss Me Cupcakes.
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The afternoon was dedicated to workshops. Each person could choose two of three: Blog Design, with Kim Lawler from Finest Imaginary; Photography for Blogging, with Hazel Paterson from It’s not f***ing rocket science; and Effectively Monetising Your Blog with Colleen Bulfin from Reward Style.
My first one was with Colleen. Reward Style is a type of affiliate marketing program, with bloggers using trackable links to get a commission on products sold because they wrote about them *sound of falling coins*. Here’s a link to an interview with their president, to give a better idea.
As one of my activities on my work and my main hobby is photography, I am always interested in hearing any professional who likes to share a little of their experience. So there I was to listen to Hazel. We got very useful tips (and links!), not only for photographing, but also about copyrights, and had the oportunity to walk around the Custard Factory for some more shots.
It was a very productive and enjoyable day. In my next post, I’ll show some of the interesting people I met there. (UPDATE: click here to read the 2nd part of my Blognix experience).
It’s springtime in the United Kingdom! Not warm enough for myself, but the gardens are looking gorgeous nowadays. We went to the Winterbourne House and Garden, Birmingham, by the end of May – a place not well known as the Botanical Gardens, but I guess this gives it a calmer atmosphere perhaps. Actually, we need to come back to visit the house, as we spent all our time in the garden in a lovely sunny day. Great place for photos at this time of the year:
> More photos on my Flickr account.
Melissa Becker 