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Initiative Combines In-Person Training in the Amazon, Financial Award, and Remote Course to Expand Digital Culture Actions and Strengthen Community, Indigenous, and Socio-Environmental Projects in the Rio Negro Region.
The Ministry of Culture (MinC) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) have opened registrations for the Network of Training in Digital Culture – Labic Amazonas, which will select 30 projects from the Rio Negro region and São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM) for immersive training and the payment of a prize of R$ 1,000 per selected initiative.
The actions combine in-person workshops, mentoring, and experiences in indigenous villages, along with an open remote course for participants from all over Brazil, with a free certificate issued by UFRJ.
Cultural Training in the Amazon
The Labic Amazonas will be held in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, a municipality considered the most indigenous in the country, with 23 peoples who preserve their own languages and traditions.
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The proposal is to promote an immersion in knowledge, technologies, and cultures of the forest, connecting traditional knowledge to contemporary digital tools.
The training prioritizes projects and leaders that work on socio-environmental actions, forest economies, social technologies, cultural production, and Amazonian ways of life, as well as initiatives aimed at combating misinformation and analyzing the impacts of digital culture on indigenous and riverside communities.
According to UFRJ’s Pro-Rector for Extension, Ivana Bentes, the focus is to discuss the role of digital platforms and tools in the daily life of the territories.
“It will be a Labic dedicated to reflecting on the impact of digital culture on indigenous cultures and highlighting initiatives that appropriate these tools to strengthen their communities and territories,” she states.
Institutional Partnerships in the Rio Negro Region
The action is organized by the Citizen Innovation Laboratory of UFRJ (Labic UFRJ) in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, through the Department of Artistic and Cultural Training, Book and Reading (Sefli), with the Federal Institute of Amazonas (Ifam) and the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Rio Negro (Foirn).
The Secretary of Cultural Training, Book and Reading of MinC, Fabiano Piúba, highlights the collaborative nature of the initiative and the continuity of the digital culture agenda in the ministry.
For him, the Labic in São Gabriel da Cachoeira is a concrete opportunity for dialogue with the territory and its strengths, reinforcing a line of work initiated in previous administrations and expanded in the current cultural policy.
In addition to strengthening local networks, Labic Amazonas also serves as a space for national articulation, connecting indigenous organizations, educational institutions, and digital culture collectives.
The Foirn, which brings together more than 20 peoples from the Rio Negro, acts as a strategic partner in mobilizing the territories and defending indigenous rights and ways of life.
What is Labic and Its Trajectory
Founded in 2017, the Labic UFRJ is coordinated by Professor Ivana Bentes and emerged with the aim of supporting collaborative and experimental practices that bring the university closer to communities, collectives, public managers, and social initiatives.
Since then, the laboratory has held editions in Rio de Janeiro (2017, 2018, and 2019), in Salvador, and Lisbon (2019).
Starting in 2020, it began to promote virtual and hybrid actions, maintaining the participatory character even during the period of physical distancing.
In recent years, Labic has expanded the citizen innovation mapping to other regions of Brazil, with editions in Brasília, Curitiba, again in Rio de Janeiro, and in 2025, in Fortaleza, before reaching São Gabriel da Cachoeira.
Labic Amazonas marks the entry of the initiative into a strategic area of the Amazon, connecting forests, rivers, villages, and digital networks.
Who Can Compete for the 30 Scholarships of R$ 1,000
The public call is aimed primarily at projects from the Rio Negro region and São Gabriel da Cachoeira (AM), as the in-person training stage will take place in the municipality.
There will be 30 initiatives selected to participate in mentoring, workshops, and immersive activities, with a cash prize of R$ 1,000 per project, as well as ongoing formative support throughout the process.
The proposals can involve community communication, digital culture, environmental actions, defense of rights, circulation of traditional knowledge, educational initiatives, and other practices of interest to local communities.
The selection considers the connection with Amazonian territories, the social and cultural relevance of the actions, and the potential for collective impact.
Remote Course and Certification by UFRJ
Those who do not live in São Gabriel da Cachoeira can also follow Labic Amazonas.
UFRJ offers the Extension Course in Digital Culture Training, entirely remote, with synchronous transmission and free certification for those who meet participation requirements.
The course is part of the university’s extension actions and is conducted in partnership with MinC, through Sefli.
The initiative is supported by Mídia Ninja and the Digital Culture Hub of the School of Communication at UFRJ (Eco/UFRJ), in addition to partnerships with Ifam and Foirn.
The content addresses topics such as digital culture in indigenous and riverside contexts, combating misinformation, community communication, strategic use of social networks, cultural economy, and social technologies aimed at the Amazon.
People from any region of the country can participate, without previous affiliation to UFRJ.
University Extension and Social Impact
Labic Amazonas is part of the set of actions by UFRJ Extension, the area responsible for connecting the university to society in different territories.
In 2024 alone, the institution developed more than two thousand extension actions, among programs, projects, courses, and events, reaching millions of people with training activities, applied research, workshops, and trainings.
In the specific case of Labic Amazonas, UFRJ students can act as collaborators of the selected projects, accumulating credits necessary for graduation and experiencing, in practice, processes of citizen innovation in dialogue with Amazonian communities.
Dates and Organization of the In-Person Stage
The in-person stage of Labic Amazonas is scheduled for the first bimonthly period of 2026, in São Gabriel da Cachoeira.
Activities will take place at the headquarters of the Federation of Indigenous Organizations of Rio Negro (Foirn) and at the Federal Institute of Amazonas (Ifam), on dates to be defined together with the selected participants.
In addition to the field immersion, there will be a mandatory online meeting, transmitted via digital platforms, in which initial content, general guidelines, and the organization of mentoring will be presented.
The remote course in Digital Culture Training, associated with the initiative, will also be held synchronously throughout this period.
How to Sign Up for Labic Amazonas and Compete for Scholarships
The registrations for Labic Amazonas are open until November 24, 2025 and must be made exclusively through the online form of the Network of Training in Digital Culture – Labic Amazonas.
Before submitting the proposal, it is essential to carefully read the Public Call, available alongside the form, as the candidate’s responses serve as the main reference for selection and take about 15 minutes to complete.
To compete for the 30 scholarships of R$ 1,000 and secure a spot in the in-person training or follow the mentoring through the remote course with a UFRJ certificate, have you already decided which project from your community has the most strength to represent your territory in this digital culture network?
Como se inscrever? Será totalmente on-line? Resido em POA, RS e tenho muita experiência em elaboração de projetos.