Changing the perspective: IP for women everywhere

On August 13, WIPO, the Secretariat of Copyright and Intellectual Rights (SDAI) and the Palmares Cultural Foundation of the Ministry of Culture of Brazil celebrated the closure of the project “Intellectual Property for Quilombola Women: Promoting Cultural Heritage and Economic Empowerment”, aimed at discussing how IP could benefit “quilombos”, communities spawned from former physical spaces of resistance to enslavement.

Left to right: Minister of Culture Margareth Menezes, Ms. Teresinha Pereira da Silva, from the quilombo of Tocoiós,Director Maria Beatriz Amorim-Borher, Minister of Women Cida Gonçalvez, Director Paula Balduino of Policies for Quilombolas and Gypsies, Ministry of Racial Equality, President of Palmares Foundation João Jorge Rodrigues and Director of Palmares Flavia Costa

The event was opened by Ms. Margareth Menezes, Minister of Culture, Ms. Cida Gonçalves, Minister of Women, Mr. João Jorge Rodrigues, President of the Palmares Cultural Foundation (FCP), Ms, Paula Balduino, Director of Policies for Quilombolas and Gypsies, Ministry of Racial Equality, Ms. Beatriz Amorim Borher, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean and Director of Projects Team at WIPO, and Ambassador Laudemar Gonçalves de Aguiar Neto, Secretary for Commercial Promotion, Science, Technology, Innovation, and Culture of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

WIPO and the Brazilian Government worked side by side with women of Baú (MG), Tocoiós (MG), Engenho da Ponte (BA) and Morro do Miriqui (BA) exploring how IP could bring value to local products and local cultural expressions. During the workshops, the groups discussed the potential development of collective trademarks for the honey of Baú, the weaving cotton work of Tocoiós, the palm oil of Engenho da Ponte, and the fruits of Miriqui.

Seven Quilombola Women represented their communities and expressed their satisfaction of being part in the project. They were extremely motivated to continue working with national partners in the protection and management of IPRs for the benefit of their communities.

Please visit the Ministry of Culture website for more information on the closing event.