At the 13th GIFE Congress in Fortaleza, experts, community leaders, and organizations discussed the paths of private social investment in Brazil. Credit: Collection
Between May 7th and 9th, experts, community leaders, and representatives of civil society organizations gathered in Fortaleza (CE) for the 13th GIFE Congress. With the theme “Deconcentrating Power, Knowledge, and Wealth,” the event aimed to drive new practices and redefine the role of the third sector in promoting a more just society, discussing the paths of private social investment in Brazil to strengthen organizations, expand social equities, and drive solutions for a sustainable and democratic future.
1200 participants at 30 tables discussed solutions being collectively built for some of the greatest contemporary challenges, such as the climate crisis. On the congress agenda, Instituto Arapyaú held a panel on bioeconomy as a matrix for economic and social development in the Amazon, in partnership with Uma Concertação pela Amazônia, Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS), and Instituto Itaúsa.
Arapyaú also participated in a debate on proposals for philanthropy to enhance the transition to fair and sustainable food systems, addressing the need to strengthen financial instruments of agricultural policy to increase access for small producers who currently cannot access credit.
“This congress reinforces that no organization is capable of proposing solutions to the problems we face alone, which tend to become increasingly complex. Working together and being attentive to the people in the territories is essential,” emphasizes Débora Passos, Arapyaú’s Planning and Governance Manager.
This was also evident at the Amazonian Leapfrogging 3.0, held at Princeton University in the United States on May 8th and 9th, 2025, where leaders in science, politics, finance, business, civil society, media, and social entrepreneurship gathered to think about models and development strategies for the Amazon. There, Arapyaú presented the positive results of initiatives such as the Conexão Povos da Floresta project, which has already brought broadband internet to over 4,500 indigenous, quilombola, extractivist, and riverside communities in the Brazilian Amazon.
The goal of positioning Brazil as a hub for climate solutions was further strengthened at the Brazil Climate Summit, held in Paris on May 26th, with a focus on forest restoration. In a meeting of about 40 sector leaders, discussions ranged from supply, demand, and financing challenges to concrete actions to position restoration as a first-class asset among Brazilian solutions and scale this activity as a business model in the coming years. “Especially in a year when our country will host the COP, it is very important to show the world that we have a mature pipeline of projects with nature-based solutions. And the international recognition of initiatives supported by Arapyaú reinforces the importance of our work,” celebrates Bruna Passos, Projects and Partnerships Coordinator in International Cooperation.
