SOME OF OUR POSSIBLE STUDY TOURS AND THEIR EDUCATIONAL CONTENTS
Sunset over Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro
LIVING THE AMAZON EXPERIENCE
Very few places in the planet hold as much mystery as the Amazon.
Considered one of man´s last frontiers on Earth, this fantastic region offers a wide variety of possibilities for a study program.
Starting from Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, our group will cruise along the Negro River and its tributaries on an exclusive, private regional boat which is the best way of getting to the points to be studied on the rainforest. Sleeping aboard in hammocks!
From our base-boat, smaller speedboats will take us to explore the “igarapés”, smaller watercourses that wind into the “igapós”, the labyrinths formed by the flooded forest. A truly amazing experience!
Students will have the opportunity to meet and interact with isolated, traditional communities and also trek along the forest with expert local guides that have been born and raised in the Amazon.
Trips can also start from Belém, the capital of the state of Pará, located at the mouth of the Amazon River.
Possible topics for studies:
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Social and Environmental Sustainability - Global Critical Issues
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Traditional Communities: Sustainable extraction, Culture and Native Knowledge of the Forest People
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Deforestation, Meteorology and Climate Change – How the Amazon parameters affect our planet. Academic presentation at INPA –National Institute for Amazonian Research (Manaus)
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Biodiversity and Ecology
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Ethnobotany and Medicinal Plants: species identification and their use by the “forest people”
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River Dynamics and Profiles
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Native-bees raising in the tropical forest (honey and pollination)
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Academic exchange with local governmental and private institutions engaged in Amazonian studies and research.
BUSINESS, ECONOMICS & AGRICULTURE
Brazil offers a broad range of possibilities concerning the study of Business and Economics.
Bluerivers invites faculty and students to spend very special time in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, two of the busiest and most emblematic Brazilian cities.
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The city of São Paulo, with its more than 20 million inhabitants, has the largest GDP and population in the country. Most of the international business, banking and industrial players have their headquarters here.
The insurance sector is, undoubtedly, a very important part of this healthy financial industry.
Agribusiness has strong roots in the state and excellent universities and research institutions to be visited.
Rio de Janeiro has a lot more than "Carnaval" to present to international study-groups.
Brazil´s largest company, Petrobrás, as well as Globo TV, latin america´s most important broadcasting system, have their headquarters in Rio.
Some of the country´s important start-ups also began their life here.
Not to mention some of the most iconic Brazilian tour spots like the Statue of Christ the Redeemer, the Sugarloaf, Maracanã Stadium and, last but surely not least, the gorgeous beaches!
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Possible topics for studies:
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Agribusiness: biofuels, animal protein production, the citrus industry
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Doing Business in Brazil: who, where and how
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Actuarial Sciences: the Brazilian very healthy insurance sector
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Medical Sciences and the Public Health Sector
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Sustainable Practices in the Brazilian Industry
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The oil industry in Brazil
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Media & Communication
ART AND CULTURE
Brazil is a country with broad possibilities of having a fascinating experience and of diving into new cultures. A colorful, friendly and perfumed nation, Brazil is home to painters such as Cândido Portinari, Di Cavalcanti and Tarsila do Amaral, to architects like Oscar Niemeyer and to important Baroque manifestations.
When it comes to Contemporary Art, the Inhotim Institute is a must-see museum and botanical garden.
In a tailor-made, arts-oriented trip the group will visit important cities like Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo as well as the historical and full of art & culture towns of Paraty, Ouro Preto and Mariana.
In each town the group will be presented to important artistic, cultural and historical manifestations that made the regions world famous and visited by thousands of travelers every year.
Fully accompanied by English-speaking trip-leaders specialized in Brazilian History and Brazilian Art.
FROM LIMESTONE CAVES TO PRISTINE MANGROVES
This program was designed to provide a fascinating experience beginning at the exuberant rain forest that covers the PETAR State Park and its more than 200 limestone caves and ending at the mangroves and sandy beaches of the Atlantic Ocean, on the Cardoso Island State Park.
Upper Ribeira State Park – PETAR
Cut by the crystalline Betary River that flows through the Paranapiacaba Mountain Range in the southeastern portion of the state of São Paulo, this important conservation unit presents a unique combination of limestone, karstic caves and the Atlantic Forest.
An ideal site for geology, speleology and biodiversity study programs. Very close to the park area, along the Ribeira River, many “Quilombos” (rural communities originally formed by fugitive African slaves of the 19th century) thrive on sustainable agriculture along the forest edge and fight against the construction of hydroelectric dams that would force these centenary settlements to move to higher areas. A critical social/environmental issue similar to others lived by communities throughout the planet. Students will have the possibility of visiting these communities and debate crucial social aspects that are vital to the survival of the people and their environment.
The town of Cananéia and the Cardoso Island State Park
Situated at 260 km (160 mi) from the city of São Paulo, the small town of Cananéia is the gateway to Brazil´s best preserved Atlantic Forest and mangrove areas. This region, encompassing around 200 km (125 mi) of virtually untouched sandy beaches and rocky shores is considered by the international community as the Southern Atlantic Nursery for marine species and was declared by UNESCO a Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site.
Here, students will have the opportunity to participate in activities that will help them understand how development and natural resources exploitation can be conciliated with conservation and sustainability. Also, students will be presented to the peculiar “Caiçara” culture, as the original people that live in and from this coastal region are known. The group will trek on the forest and deserted beaches in the Cardoso Island State Park, interact with fisherman communities and also will be presented to important conservation projects that deal with sustainable extraction of marine resources.
Possible topics for studies:
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Geology and Anthropology
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Sustainable Organic Agriculture
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Traditional Communities: Culture, Native Knowledge and Sustainable Extraction
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Biodiversity in the tropical rainforest
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Mangrove studies: water salinity, adaptations of living organisms to different salinity levels, species identification (plants, vertebrate, invertebrate)
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Beach Dynamics and Zonation
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River Studies and Profiles
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Academic exchange with conservation and research projects