For the 3rd edition of the UP Seminar, the chosen theme is “Art, Culture and Creativity as Strategies for Promoting Human Development and Prosperity.”
This seminar proposes a shift in perspective: placing culture, creativity, and local talent at the heart of economic and social development strategies, while exploring how businesses and development organizations can generate value. Rather than treating these elements as complementary or secondary, the event invites participants to recognize them as structural forces capable of generating sustainable prosperity, strengthening identities, and expanding opportunities — especially in small communities.
Throughout the program, participants will discuss practical ways to transform symbolic assets into consistent economic outcomes. The discussion begins with the recognition that each territory has unique resources, including knowledge, practices, histories, languages, and ways of doing things. When valued and strategically connected, these assets can drive productive value chains, foster entrepreneurship, and diversify local economies. Rather than replicating ready-made models, the seminar emphasizes the importance of developing solutions rooted in each community’s reality, respecting its strengths, resources, and vision for the future.
The seminar will also address the practical challenges of making creative initiatives sustainable, including skills development, access to markets, territorial branding, partnership building, and the design of long-term programs. The goal is to explore mechanisms that strengthen local leadership and expand communities’ capacity to generate income, attract investment, and create opportunities for younger generations, thereby reducing inequalities and encouraging people to remain in their communities.
The aim is to foster an integrated vision in which economic development and cultural appreciation go hand in hand, shaping a model of prosperity that combines identity, innovation, and inclusion.
The seminar will feature two panels addressing topics directly related to this year’s theme, with ample opportunities for questions, answers, and collective discussion. Our goal is to build knowledge and deepen awareness through a shared, collaborative learning process involving both panelists and participants.
The Utopia Pragmática seminar series culminates in a “living” article that documents the contributions and insights generated each year, serving as a conceptual and practical reference for businesses and social investors interested in the topic. [Access the article from the 2nd edition here.]
Morning panel
Culture is not ornamentation: it is strategy.
In Brazil, we tend to view culture through a skewed lens: one eye sees it from the perspective of entertainment, while the other regards it as something of lesser importance, often associating cultural expressions with impoverished bursts of creativity from vulnerable communities. This is a symptom of our pattern of mental colonialism, which traps us in the belief that we will always be a poorly made caricature of a developed country, when in fact there is no country in the world worth copying — for the obvious reason that there is only ONE Brazil.
For this reason, we need to develop our own approach to promoting social and economic development. The first step is to join forces around a long-term process of recognizing and valuing our identity and our profoundly diverse and precious culture, both poetically and pragmatically (“be tough without losing tenderness”). We must understand that Brazilian culture and creativity, including our “sivirismo” — our ability to improvise, adapt, and find a way forward with whatever resources we have — are assets with enormous potential to position Brazil as a prosperous nation, particularly when prosperity is understood in terms of the well-being of all. And the best places to bring about this internal and external transformation are small, remote communities.
In this panel, we will explore the strategic importance of investing in art, culture, and creativity as part of long-term strategies for building endogenous models of human development and prosperity. We will focus particularly on communities that can collectively foster processes of well-being and social and economic development, grounded in the shared recognition of the value of a national identity shaped by the richness of our differences.
Clarify the opening contrastReduce repeated development language
Speakers
Tom Fleming
Dr Tom Fleming is a leading global expert on culture and the creative economy. As Director of strategic consultancy TFCC, he has led policy and development in over 70 countries and 200 municipalities. Clients include UNESCO, World Bank, Governments, cities and Institutions. Tom is Editor in Chief to UNESCO's first Global Report on Cultural Policies. He has worked extensively in Brazil, including creative industries research for the British Council and Sebrae. His work focuses on how culture and creativity are foundations for sustainable development and vectors for social technologies and innovation ecosystems. He is proud to partner with The Human Project in Sergipe.
Klaus Ib Jørgensen
Klaus Ib Jørgensen is a Danish professional with a background in music, cultural management, and international cooperation. He currently works as a senior consultant at the Nordic Culture Fund, promoting cultural collaboration initiatives.
Daniel Mira
Artist and researcher of innovation based on Nature and traditional communities, with over 30 years of experience in Brazil and abroad. Founder of NOUS Ecossistema, he conceived the Art Thinking methodology, focused on innovation through poiesis and Imago for the creation of new imaginaries inspired by Nature.
Moderator: Giulia Santana, The Human Project
Afternoon panel
Creative Economy: Strategy in Action
The creative economy is a powerful economic development strategy for communities because it transforms local culture, identity, and talent into productive assets, generating income, jobs, and opportunities without relying exclusively on large industries or external investments.
By valuing traditional knowledge, artistic expressions, cultural heritage, and innovation, it strengthens local production chains – from crafts to audiovisual, from gastronomy to design – stimulating entrepreneurship and keeping wealth circulating within the territory and creating opportunities for new generations to remain in the territory, reducing rural exodus and demographic concentration in large centers.
But it is necessary to conceive and implement projects that effectively represent opportunities for transformation, understanding that project models do not work and that we need to think about programs in which communities are the main protagonists. And it is also necessary to consider the need for local capacity building for innovation and design, as well as capacities to support entrepreneurs in effective marketing, branding, and partnership actions.
In this panel we will discuss existing mechanisms for promoting initiatives related to the creative economy, especially within perspectives of real transformation, and also the challenges and innovative aspects that need to be taken into account so that these initiatives have a greater chance of prospering and becoming sustainable.
Speakers
Cláudia Leitão
Cláudia Leitão is a professor, researcher, and specialist in the creative economy. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the Sorbonne, was Secretary of Culture for the state of Ceará, and a pioneer in formulating public policies for the sector. Currently, she is the Secretary of Creative Economy at the Ministry of Culture.
Patrícia Mayana
Patrícia Mayana is the Deputy Manager of the Competitiveness Unit at Sebrae, where she has worked since 2000. She has experience in developing solutions for small businesses, market intelligence products, business intelligence solutions, and project management. She holds a degree in Business Administration and is a specialist in Analytics and Marketing.
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Heloísa Jardim
With over 20 years of professional experience in the financial market, strategic consulting, corporate health, organizational sustainability, and education, Heloisa Jardim has worked for organizations such as Deloitte, Vale, Harvard, and Exame.
In addition to her extensive experience in the private sector, Heloisa has a solid academic background in Finance (COPPEAD), Sustainability (UFRJ), Public Health (HARVARD), and extensive social field experience in Brazil, Mozambique, Malawi, China, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, the United States, and Mexico.
This multidisciplinary repertoire allows Heloisa to bring a systemic perspective to her work at BTG Pactual, where she serves as Executive Director of Social Impact and Philanthropy.
Moderator: Saulo Barretto
The Human Project
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Writer: Ana Vitória Alkmim
Researcher at UFMG and professor at Fundação Dom Cabral in the areas of Strategy and Social Education.
When: June 24, 2025
Opening hours: 9am to 5pm (registration and coffee service start at 8am)
Where: MIS - Museu de Imagem e Som - Avenida Europa 158, São Paulo - SP