Why is pedestrians and bikes so underpriviledged in Brazil?

One of the biggest problems in a majority of the mayor cities is that there is a complete lack of respect for pedestrians and people on bicycle. Everything is made with the car in mind, making it unpleasant for the people living in the cities for so many reasons. And this isn't something that has to be absent just because it is a huge city. I can recall to when I was visiting Bejing in China, I wasn't by far feeling so underprivileged as a pedestrian or for that matter on the bike. There they even had wide roads made only for the bicycles.
I would like to say that the will is there, the will to use the bike, the will to live under better conditions. This is for example showed by all the people who goes to USP regularly to bike, sometimes even before the sun goes up, also the crowded bicycle lanes on Sundays between 09.00 am to 4 pm. Obviously this is not enough and I think more people aught to step up for this right. Raise the importance of people and don't continue making the people in the cars privileged and above everything that walks and bikes, thus these people are as important as every man or woman protected inside of the car. This is something that must be taken more seriously if sustainable changes is something of value in this country. And I hope sincerely that both politicians, but most likely the people in Brazil step up for this right. Last I would like to end this post by adding some inspiration, when we don't know what to do why don't we grab some courage and inspirations from a country close by, look what people in Chile did:  

http://www.jb.com.br/galerias/2011/06/11/chilenos-ficam-nus-para-alertar-sobre-seguranca-para-ciclistas/

Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt met with Dilma Rouseff

The Swedish prime minister paid a visit to Brazil last month. The reason for his visit was to meet with the new president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff and the Chilean president Sebastián Piñeira. The agenda focused on Swedish relations with these countries and especially focus on trade, research and innovation.

These two countries have both good connection with Sweden, not only the fact that 45.000 chilean people live in Sweden today, also the interesting fact that Ericsson ( a Swedish telecom company) started its jerny to Brazil already in 1888 when the founder of the company Lars Magnus Ericsson met with the emperor of that time Dom Pedro II, later to sell the first telephone station in 1900.

Sweden has today more then 200 companies running in Brazil which together employs about 30.000 people. The trade relations are steady growing and Sweden and Brazil has had a strategic partnership in the areas of trade, bio energy, science and issues regarding climate change since 2009.

During the discussions the subject of ethanol was treated, as Sweden is the leading country in Europe to use ethanol. So the interest of strengthening these bonds was of course on the table. Interesting to add to this is that after the Swedish prime minister returned to Sweden a positive decision was made by the EU that allows Sweden to continue import ethanol without higher customs. This would have raised the average prising on ethanol in Sweden. But this decision, promoting ethanol, will last during the coming three years.

News from the Swedish government:

http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/11971/nocache/true/a/168669/dictionary/true

http://www.swedenabroad.com/News____27917.aspx?slaveid=126212

Information about the Swedish industry in Brazil (made by www.teknikforetagen.se)

http://www.teknikforetagen.se/Documents/Ekonomisk_analys/Brasilien-eng.pdf

Swedish world cup supporters in Brazil 2014

To start a series of posts which relates to the long and lasting relations between Sweden and Brazil i will here by start with one of my own adventures which took place in a TV-show here in Brazil. The show is called "Legendarios" and is what you could say a typical late night show here in Brazil. The part we participated in was a sceatch about the aproaching world cup 2014 and how, until now, very little has been started to be able to recive all the millions of foreigners that will invade this huge country by then.
What we did was a simulation as if the world cup in Brazil was today, and a group of Swedish supporters arrives here in São Paulo, Brazil. They are entusiasticly celebrating the fact that they will participate in a game when Sweden is playing on the opening stadium in Itaquera, São Paulo. Which to their greatest fear, they will later discover, isn't even built yet...

This is acctually an ongoing consern here in Brazil and the first part of this video (see link below) shows an undercover journalist who sneaks in on what should be the constructions of some of the major stadiums here in Brazil. The second part follows with the Swedish supporters, on what hopefully not will be, an actual world cup scenario in Brazil.

Enjoy:

Swedish world cup supporters in Brazil 2014 (The video is in Portugues but i think you who doesn't speak the language will understand the scenario anyway)

Entrepreneurial advices!

Taken from www.fairenterprise.com

Today we talked to Björn Söderberg about social entreprenurship and idéas for Brasil and Sweden. He is a very interessting guy whit a lot of experience in this area. What I would like to share with you now is some of the advices he gives and what is important to have in mind when you want to engage in social entrepreneurship;

1. First of all, don't be afraid of faileure. The one who never tries never will succeed. 


2. Don't digg your head down in paper work, out and sell instead!


3.Don't rely on grants, out and sell!


4. Don't worry about accounting, out and sell!


5. Nothing goes as planned, get used to it!


6. Work. hard.


7. Read number 6 again.

It sounds so easy in plain words but the consencus of all of this is that you shouldn't let these none arrised problems, in form of paperwork and accounting be any obstacle. Because without any sales what would you then have accounting for? The relation to getting grants shouldn't be addictive in they way that you couldn't survive without it, because then your idea or way of working isn't bearing.  Get used to the unpredictable wich is very present in the life of a social entrepreneur, and see it instead as a way of finding new opportunities. Björn says he has failed a lot, but every faileure becomes a new experience. Let the idea of making a difference combined with the social and environmental approach be the key and work at 120% or not at all.

Taken from www.fairenterprise.com

More to come,

Golf in Porto Alegre?

To lighten up a little bit from all these earlier posts I've choosen to submit this video. When speaking about ifrastructure this video pretty mutch  speaks for itself, and I think it includes a maiority of the maior city's here in Brazil.

Enjoy,

About Brazil, the BRICS and sustainable growth.

http://www.ne.se/amazonas

Brazil is a country mostly known for it's obsession in fotball, it's colorful people, vast beaches, Amazonas and festivities such as "Carnaval". All of this is of course something wery present of the life in Brazil, but for the wide diversion this country is possessing, this is far from the only things that this country has to offer.

I wont in my experiences about Brazil try to whitewash the surface to try to make a better picture of it. This is still a country whit a lot of problems to be solved, not only here in São Paulo, but in all of the corners of this massive country. But in these problems such as corruption, pollution, poverty and insecurity there is also potential. This potential has been demonstrated during the last twenty years, as the economy for the first time has stepped it's foot on the world stage. Here the democratization of the country and the "Plano Real"*, which implemented the present currency here in brazil "Real", has played a important role to make this happen, but also the high demand of natural recources and ethanol. Together with the other "BRICS" countries (Russia, India, China and South Africa) they are changing the rules and are putting pressure on todays obvious powers. 

It's an interessting time we are witnessing when technology and the extintion of poverty is accelerating it's speed and only in the "BRICS" millions of people have stepped out of poverty and improved their lives significantly*. Here actions like the "bolsa familia"** which was an initiative from the ex president "Lula" is contributing to this trend since it is incentivating families to let their children go to school. I would like to contribute to continue this trend and also work for sustainable growth as it has been proven that you can combine progress with social responsibility. We can not just stand by watching our planet being exploited any more. Therefore the care for environmental sustainability is one of my biggest conserns and I wish to dedicate my life to help solving this hard equation. 

If you wish to know more about Brazil and Sweden, the BRICS and social responsibility I advice you to keep on reading this blog.  

I will below give some references and links to other inspiring places to read more on these topics. 

In numbers

The world Bank data

http://data.worldbank.org/country/brazil

*Itau Unibanco report about Brazil (here for example you can see in numbers the changes of inflation thanks to the "Plano Real")

http://www.itaulondon.com/registration/downloads/Pedro%20Moreira%20Salles.pdf

In text

One of my professors at USP (University of São Paulo) has a very interesting homepage to learn more about the "BRICS"

http://www.postwesternworld.com/

In Video

Hans Rosling from Sweden, the most interesting statistician in modern time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo

About Bolsa familia


http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/BRAZILEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21447054~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:322341,00.html

I'll keep you posted,

Gustav Runeberg Schultz

My biggest inspiration!

In the strive of making a difference a couple of years ago I stumbled over a name which today has a very big influence on me. His name is Björn Söderberg and he is born in Sweden and has for several years now been working in Nepal, a underprivileged country in between China and India. In this poor environment he has been over almost a decade now worked and started four different companies. The foundation of these companies is sustainable growth as a key measurer and he shows that companies can both be socially responsible and in the same time profitable. Today he is also working with lectures about his experiences and gives inspiration for the new generations of entrepreneurs and workers to continuously dare to develop new ideas for a better world.

About the enterprise:
http://www.fairenterprise.net/fen_Home.aspx (In Swedish)

Some of Björns companies:
http://www.watabaran.org/ (In english, Björns first company in Nepal, works with recycling material)

http://www.websearchpro.net/ (In english, here Björn shows how a company that provides IT solutions can stimulate a domestic development of high educated people to stay in the country)