Presented by Adna de Paula, Professor of African and Afro-Diasporic Philosophy, The Federal University of the Valleys of Jequitinhonha and Mucuri

Adna de Paula, coordinator of the Center for Research, Teaching, and Outreach on the African Diaspora (NUPED) and member of the Brazilian Association of Black Researchers, will share her work on rethinking Brazilian education through an Afrocentric lens.

Her talk explores the concept of de-westernization as a path toward cultural and educational emancipation in Brazil. Drawing on African and Indigenous cosmologies, historical analysis, and the impact of systemic racism, de Paula will examine how formal education has reinforced Western dominance and how shifting frameworks could support Brazil’s social, geopolitical, and economic future.

This presentation invites participants to consider how de-westernization can serve as a strategy not only for equity and justice in education but also for addressing global humanitarian challenges such as climate change.