São Paulo’s Leading Role (Estadão)

NON DVCOR DVCO. This was the title of our 2015 article on this blog. In this new chapter for the city of São Paulo, we revisit the title to emphasize that regardless of who serves as mayor, we must embrace our role as active citizens. I am not led; I lead! The Latin words inscribed on the coat of arms of São Paulo’s flag reflect the social role each paulistano has in relation to the city — reminding us of the need to be present here and now, to take action, and to value the city we shape every day.

We are living through a deeply polarized moment in which everything becomes a “war” between opposing fan bases, particularly in politics. Former U.S. President Barack Obama, in his farewell speech a few days ago, reminded us that for many of us, it has become safer to retreat into our own bubbles — whether our neighborhoods, universities, or social media feeds — surrounded by people who look like us, share our political views, and never challenge our assumptions.

“Democracy needs you at your fullest. If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try talking to a stranger in real life. If something needs fixing, roll up your sleeves and organize people to fix it,” Obama emphasized.

There, as here… we bring these words back to highlight the urgent need to practice our presence, our listening, and our ability to observe — and, above all, to put ourselves in a position of action, exercising what we understand as citizenship.

Do we have the city we need? How can we reclaim or preserve a sense of place and the individuality that shapes the character and soul of a city?

Today, Hey Sampa celebrates its third anniversary. We continue our restless search for meaning and belonging. We seek ways to draw the attention of São Paulo’s residents to the value and use of the city’s tangible and intangible heritage. Over the past few months, we have worked with different partners to promote heritage education and encourage better use of the city’s public spaces, revisiting the concept of the city as a school and co-creating new educational spaces.

Learning in the city. Imagine taking museum education programs outside the museums, exploring their surroundings and their history. In 2016, Hey Sampa organized these outings with municipal schools and Youth Centers in the city’s outskirts. The idea was to explore downtown São Paulo on foot, connecting students’ personal stories with the stories of the places they were visiting.

More than 100 students took part in several walks. Jefferson, from the Campo Limpo Youth Center, was astonished that “downtown is full of rich kids!” Marina, meanwhile, was deeply affected by the number of homeless people she saw around Praça da Sé: “I wanted to understand why they sleep there.”

Looking at the city also means allowing ourselves to belong to it. It is an exercise in reflecting on the society we live in, an exercise in empathy and in reclaiming our own memories and identity. We call this Heritage Education.

From walk to walk, through stories, perspectives, and people, we perform our simple but essential role: belonging to the city. In doing so, we step outside our own bubbles.

Learning firsthand that streets are a constant source of knowledge. Through heritage education, it is possible to create opportunities to experience and learn from urban spaces, while encouraging new ways of seeing them. In doing so, we can value and keep history alive while strengthening the relationship between citizens and their city.

The city embraced. A city cannot be explained. It can only be understood by exploring it, experiencing it through the adventure of discovery. To requalify and give new meaning to a city through education, we need to create the connections necessary to bring the hearts of paulistanos closer to the heart of the city — finding the city within ourselves.

It is our responsibility as citizens to share the cultural values of the places where we live and the ways in which their heritage can be preserved, while passing this knowledge on to future generations. Above all, this is a project for shaping citizens who are free, autonomous, and aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Paulo Freire used to say that we are incomplete. Recognizing our incompleteness is important because it allows us to remain in a process of lifelong learning, with open horizons and a willingness to learn from others and from the world around us.

It is an honor to occupy this role as protagonists in a city in motion — a city that needs to be heard, experienced, and embraced by us — and that today celebrates its 463rd birthday.

Happy birthday, São Paulo!!! Let’s keep moving forward!

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