Analysis and debate from a nation in search of its identity

1. Context and purpose

UM BRASIL is a multimedia platform for reflection, content production and informed public debate on Brazil’s structural challenges.

Created in 2013 as a hub for ideas, the project brings together thinkers, educators, business people, researchers, political and social leaders, and emerging voices willing to discuss Brazil openly, pluralistically and without party allegiance.

Funded by FecomercioSP, UM BRASIL extends the federation’s institutional remit beyond the world of work and into the world of ideas, encouraging critical thinking, civic participation and the search for solutions to Brazil’s economic, social and political development.

2. The challenge

In an environment shaped by:

• extreme polarisation,
• an impoverished public debate,
• disinformation,
• low levels of civic participation,
• and young people’s disengagement from structural issues…

…UM BRASIL’s central challenge has been, and remains, to create spaces for informed dialogue capable of:

• exploring complex subjects in depth, without oversimplifying them;
• connecting different fields of knowledge;
• encouraging critical thinking;
• and generating impact beyond the immediate news cycle.

3. Editorial and content strategy

UM BRASIL’s strategy rests on three pillars:

a) In-depth interviews
Long, substantial, contextualised conversations with intellectuals, specialists, and political, business and social leaders from Brazil and abroad, allowing for structural analysis rather than short-term commentary.

b) A range of formats and languages
Alongside its video interviews, the platform operates as a multimedia ecosystem combining:

• an editorial website,
• social media,
• print and digital publications,
• editorial cartoons,
• themed books,
• partnerships,
• and events.

c) Curation and intellectual independence
The project is explicitly non-partisan, prioritising the contest of ideas, a plurality of viewpoints and the quality of the argument as the guiding principle of its curation.

4. Channels and digital presence

UM BRASIL is present across multiple channels:

• YouTube — the main audiovisual archive of interviews and debates
• Website — umbrasil.com, bringing together interviews, articles, publications and editorial cartoons
• Social media — Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn
• Publications — books
• In-person and hybrid events

5. Figures and reach (cumulative, as at August 2026)

• 700+ interviews and debates in the archive
• 15+ million views
• + 1.000.000 hours of content watched
• 300,000+ YouTube subscribers
• 350,000+ social media followers
• 18 print publications

These figures reflect not only reach but the project’s editorial consistency and longevity.

6. Media impact and institutional partnerships

UM BRASIL’s content reaches major media outlets through editorial partnerships, citations, republication and follow-up journalism.

The project also holds academic and institutional partnerships with universities and forums in Brazil and internationally, including:

• USP, Unifesp, Mackenzie, Insper and FGV (Brazil)
• King’s College London
• Harvard, Columbia and MIT
• Movimento Pessoas à Frente
• Tendências Consultoria
• RenovaBR
• the Organization of American States (OAS)
• Instituto Ethos
• Casa Balaio (Belém, Pará)
• World Trade Center Lisbon
• Aberje, the Brazilian Association of Business Communication

More on the partnerships: https://umbrasil.com/parceiros/

7. Editorial production and publications

UM BRASIL has developed its own collection of books and special publications devoted to subjects at the centre of Brazil’s national debate, including:

• modernising the state,
• inequality,
• education,
• the creative economy,
• ESG,
• geopolitics,
• structural reform.

These publications extend the project’s impact beyond the digital sphere and have established it in publishing as well.

8. Recognition and awards

The project has received significant recognition, including:

• Prêmio Aberje (2018 and 2024) — the leading award in business communications in Brazil
• Prémio Lusófonos da Criatividade (2024) — creativity award for the Portuguese-speaking world

9. Impact

More than a channel for interviews, UM BRASIL has established itself as:

and an instrument for strengthening informed public debate in Brazil.

a permanent space for reflection on Brazil;

a historical archive of ideas and diagnoses;

a platform for civic education;