Research partnership amplifies Indigenous Amazon voices through sustainability and education
Researchers from Oxford Brookes University are part of a new international partnership supporting Indigenous communities in the Amazon through digital storytelling, sustainability education, and inclusive approaches to learning.
The project, “Co-Creating Sustainable Futures: Amplifying Indigenous Voices from the Amazon through a UK-Brazil Educational Partnership”, brings together academics from Oxford Brookes, the Federal University of Rondônia (UNIR), and Goldsmiths, University of London.
Dr Carolina Redolfi and Dr Junior Oliveira represent Oxford Brookes within the multidisciplinary team, working alongside colleagues Dr. Nara Luisa Reis, Dr. João Gilberto, Dr. Evelyn Morales, and Dr. Neiva Araujo (UNIR); and Dr. Luciana Velloso (Goldsmiths, University of London).
Funded by the British Council’s Going Global Partnerships programme, the project will offer a hybrid course in digital marketing and storytelling focused on sustainability, developed specifically for students from indigenous and traditional communities.
Dr Carolina Redolfi, Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes and UK project lead, explains:
“This project not only strengthens academic collaboration between our countries but also puts into the hands of Amazonian students the tools to tell their own stories.”
The course will equip participants with the skills to create sustainability-focused campaigns grounded in their lived experiences and environmental knowledge. Dr Nara Luisa Reis de Andrade, project lead at the Federal University of Rondônia, further explains the importance of the project:
“Initiatives like this ensure that the perspectives and realities of Amazonian peoples gain greater visibility, while fostering inclusive education through the exchange of knowledge between researchers and students.”
The partnership also aims to rethink how education is delivered across borders, with a strong emphasis on collaboration and shared knowledge.
Dr Luciana Velloso of Goldsmiths, University of London, said:
“By focusing on the knowledge and lived experiences of Indigenous peoples, this project contributes to the decolonisation of educational curricula and creates opportunities to learn ‘with’ communities, not just ‘about’ them.”
The project will conclude in 2027 with a hybrid showcase presenting student work to audiences in both Brazil and the UK. Outputs will also include a joint report on transnational education and an academic publication exploring inclusive and scalable models of international collaboration.