On Day of Giving, we spoke to Amalia Fischer about the culture of giving and the vibrant civil society scene in Brazil. The #DiadeDoar is a major campaign to promote the culture of giving in Brazil and around the world. It was held in Brazil for the first time in 2013 and originated in the United States, where it began in 2012. Today it is a worldwide campaign, with more than 45 countries officially participating. Abroad, #diadedoar is called #GivingTuesday, which means "Tuesday of Giving", and is always held on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
In Brazil, #diadedoar is organized by the ABCR partnership - the Brazilian Association of Fundraisers.
Check out the interview:
According to a 2017 IPEA survey, Brazil has more than 820,000 NGOs working for better conditions in education, health, equal access to rights and respect for the environment, among many other issues. The country is also internationally recognized for its strong volunteer network. How do you see this vibrant civil society scene today?
Brazil obviously has a vibrant civil society, passionate about multiple causes and has many institutions that are a model to be followed, which link the private sector with some causes, and public-private partnerships are also important in terms of private social investment. There is a great involvement of people in these various causes who give their time, energy and wisdom to improve Brazil and for the country's own development. Brazil has been admired by other Latin American countries - which is what I know most about - both for its volunteerism and for the various causes that civil society organizations embrace. And there are civil society associations that are very concerned about all the issues that have to do with social issues, diversity, plurality and the defense of rights.
Despite this, the culture of giving in the country is still weak and there is a lot of distrust and discrediting of NGOs on the part of a large part of society. How can we meet this challenge today?
I think that if we publicized everything that civil society does, and what organizations do every day - and informal groups, what they do every day to improve the lives of thousands of people in Brazil, instead of only reporting on the bad issues, we would all have a smile on our lips because we wouldn't lose trust and credibility in other people. On the contrary, empathy, compassion and love would increase, as would the culture of giving. It would increase because people would have more credibility.
Claro que existem organizações que não cumprem com ética e transparência sua missão, mas é um ponto pequeno comparado com todo o maravilhosos trabalho que faz a sociedade civil brasileira. E se se dá maior visibilidade a esse trabalho magnífico e feito muitas vezes com as unhas, porque as organizações não têm recursos, além de sermos mais feliz