Photo: Jacir Souza/ Wakywai/CIR
The lawyer of the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR), Ivo Cípio Aureliano, from the Macuxi people, was one of the four Brazilians selected for the 2021 edition of the Ford Foundation's global leadership strengthening program, the Ford Global Fellowship.
The scholarship, with financial support of $25,000 (about R$5,800 per month), is offered for 24 months. The program, according to Ford, "aims to connect and support the next generation of leaders around the world who are developing innovative solutions to end inequality."
In Brazil, professor and journalist Anielle Franco, sister of councilwoman Marielle Franco, murdered in 2018, art curator Diane Lima, and geographer Henrique Silveira were also selected. In all, 48 scholarship recipients were awarded worldwide.
Ivo Macuxi, as he is known, graduated in Law at the age of 28 and since 2018 has been a member of the Legal Department of the CIR. For ten years, he has been working with indigenous people who live in an urban context in the capital Boa Vista. He has a specialization in public law, is a member of the Human Rights Defense Commission of the Federal Council and president of the Commission for the Defense of Indigenous Rights of the OAB of Roraima.
"Being selected for this scholarship is a very important recognition not only of my work, but of the defense of indigenous rights in all instances, both in Brazil and abroad," he said.
Alongside Eloy Terena and Samara Pataxó, Ivo was one of the four indigenous lawyers to make oral arguments in the vote on the Temporal Framework thesis in September, in the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
In October, he also spoke at the 48th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, where he highlighted the threat that the thesis poses to Brazil's indigenous peoples.
"Indigenous peoples have the right to control their lands and live free from exploitation," Ivo argues.
The Global Fellows selection was launched in 2020 and will have over the next 10 years a global investment of $50 million to support 240 fellows. Created more than 80 years ago, the Ford Foundation is one of the most prestigious non-profit institutions in the world, having supported leaders such as Kofi Annan, former UN secretary, and Condolezza Rice, former US secretary of state.