Veredas

About us

Veredas – Human Rights Strategies advises companies, institutions and civil society organizations engaged in the protection and enforcement of human rights. Strategically, we offer customized and structural solutions, promoting fair corporate practices and healthy work environments. We can provide assistance both in moments of crisis that require immediate responses, and in planning the construction of medium and long-term solutions. By acting in four areas – Compliance, Governance, Engagement and Training – our consultancy offers complete and integral solutions to each demand, relying, whenever necessary, on specialized partnerships capable of providing qualified answers to each given situation.

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Founding Members

Giovanna Araujo

Joana Zylbersztajn​

Joana Zylbersztajn

Mayra Cotta

Associated consulting

Natália Maria Alves Machado

Natália Maria Alves Machado

Diversity and inclusion

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Natália Maria Alves Machado is a Doctoral Student in Anthropology with a Master’s in Law and a Bachelor’s in Social Sciences from the University of Brasília and related communities. The main themes of her research are Law, Politics, Memory, the Body, Epistemologies and Health. Natália Maria is a black woman from the Cerrado region of Brazil and the daughter of immigrants from Minas Gerais and Ceará, a direct descendant of black-indigenous ancestry from both lineages by way of countryside-forest-city and waters. She has been involved since the mid-2000s in various forms of activism and advocacy in the field of Human and Socio-Environmental Rights, being one of the editors of the Amicus Curiae Action presented by the Nosso Coletivo Negro at the Federal Supreme Court at the occasion of the ADPF 186 trial. In recent years she has dedicated herself to research and activism as a person with disabilities. Also, she led studies and initiatives focused on territorial rights, ethnicity and land restitution and the improvement of affirmative actions/rights of recognition. Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br/5224301994868144

Vinícius Alves

Vinícius Alves

LGBTQIA+ rights, culture and audio-visual

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Vinícius Alves holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Gender and Diversity Studies from the Department of Gender and Feminism Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences at the Federal University of Bahia (FFCH-UFBA). He is currently completing the Master’s Degree Program in Interdisciplinary Studies on Women, Gender and Feminism (PPGNEIM-UFBA). Vinícius has contributed to the creation of projects such as the Center for the Promotion and Defense of LGBTQIA+ Rights in Bahia (2014-2015) and as General Coordinator of LGBTQIA+ Policies of the Government of the State of Bahia between 2015-2019. He was also a fellow-tutor of the multicampi research “Clínica de PrEP 15-19” (ISC-UFBA/Fiocruz) and a collaborator in projects such as the Black Initiative for a New Policy on Drugs. He has been an LGBTQIA+ activist for 14 years and has researched “fervo” as a movement that sees urban festivities as a strategy to pivot social and political participation and engage the black youth, women and LGBTQIA+ people from the edge of towns. He is currently a contributor to Rede Fora do Eixo, Mídia NINJA, Cine.NINJA and Casa Ninja Bahia.

Luma Nascimento

Luma Nascimento

Culture and audio-visual

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Luma Nascimento is a visual artist, educator and researcher of Brazilian ethnicity and alternative movements and societies organized by black people. Her work seeks to encourage the production of narrative interpretations of Afro-ethnic diversity in Brazil’s internal and external culture. She has a degree in Pedagogy from the State University of Bahia UNEB and is an Official Ambassador of the Young Entrepreneurs Program in Portuguese-speaking Countries with the National Youth Pact of AIESEC BR together with A GERAÇÃO +2030. She has worked in the area of education and social entrepreneurship through SEPROMI – Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality of the State of Bahia, along with the State Policy for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship for Black People and Women – (PENM). In 2018, she was a researcher at LABI – Interdisciplinary Laboratory of LGBTQIA + Policies in Brazil, contributing to the construction of the Laboratory and responsible for managing digital data related to LGBTQIA + policies. In 2017, she was recognized in the “Social Entrepreneurship” category at the 1st edition of Campus Party Bahia. In 2019, she was elected by Gettyimages as one of the 179 real women that compose the cast of the worldwide project #SHOWUS. A member of Coletivo Chão.ART, she is a Researcher, Cultural Producer and Art Director at Escola de Cinema Cine Arts. She is Vice President of the traditional Bloco Afro Os Negões, a cultural group established in 1982 that actively participated in the founding of the Brazilian Black Movement. In 2020, her published research project “Me Despache”, studies of markets and open fairs in Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, was featured at the CAPACETE Artistic Residency + Museu de Arte Moderna RIO.

Paulo Rená

Paulo Rená

Diversity and Data Protection

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Paulo Rená is Professor of Law, Innovation and Technology at the Department of Legal and Social Sciences at the University Center of Brasília – CEUB. He is a Doctoral candidate and Master in Law, State and Constitution at the University of Brasília. He is Chief Executive Officer at the Instituto Beta: Internet & Democracy and researcher at the Aqualtune LAB, both NGOs that are members of the Coalizão Direitos na Rede (Coalition for Rights on the Web). Paulo is Senior Public Policy Consultant at ISOC Brasil for Cryptography and Intermediary Liability and a member of the Advisory Board of InternetLAB. He is a Federal Public Servant at the Superior Labor Court. As a manager at the Legislative Affairs Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice, he led relevant efforts towards a highly successful participatory process that resulted in the approval of the Brazilian internet bill of rights – a legal framework known as Marco Civil da Internet.

William Tomaz

William Tomaz

People with Disabilities (PwD) rights , inclusion and accessibility

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William de Souza Tomaz holds a degree in Human Resources Management, is a postgraduate candidate in Libras – Education, Translation and Teaching in Higher Education and Proficiency in Libras Prolibras, from the Federal University of Santa Catarina – UFSC. He is an independent artist, militant in the search for cultural accessibility and inclusive art. In 2018, he obtained the Cultura Viva award from the Department of Culture and Creative Economy of the Federal District, in recognition of his work in the cultural panorama of the Federal District. He served as a Libras professor at the School of Financial Administration-ESAF, was a collaborator in the Specialization course in Cultural Accessibility and in the National Meeting on Cultural Accessibility-ENAC, both held by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro-UFRJ. He was a university interpreter in undergraduate and graduate courses, proofreader and supervisor of a team of workers with disabilities in Electronic Document Management projects – GED in the Federal District and Territories Court of Justice – TJDFT, Regional Labor Court – TRT, Superior Court Electoral – TSE and Anvisa, by CETEFE and Politec TI. He currently maintains a relationship with the Marista Institute in a project to train deaf people for the world of work. He is the creator/coordinator of the Deaf Cinema project with training for deaf people in cinema; cultural producer; accessibility manager and consultant for cultural events and projects.

Antônio José do Nascimento Ferreira

Antônio José do Nascimento Ferreira

People with disabilities (PwD) rights, inclusion and accessibility

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Antônio José do Nascimento Ferreira holds a bachelor’s degree in Social Communication/Journalism from the Instituto de Educação Superior de Brasília (IESB) and a postgraduate degree in teaching in higher education from the Faculdade Brasileira de Educação e Cultura/RJ. He was national secretary for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the Secretariat for Human Rights of the Presidency of the Republic, as well as municipal superintendent for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or Reduced Mobility of the Municipal Secretariat for Human Rights and Affirmative Policies of the City Hall of Goiânia/GO, among other positions. With extensive experience in participatory management, Antônio José was a member of the National Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Conade) for eight years and served as president for one term. He has also been president of the National Organization of the Blind in Brazil (ONCB) and president of the Pernambuco Social Assistance Council. In addition, he worked on the mobilization for the approval of the Statute of Persons with Disabilities and the signing of the Marrakech Treaty; coordinated the National Plan for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Living without Limits; coordinated the 3rd and 4th National Conferences on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and annually participated in the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Patrícia Kodaíra

Patrícia Kodaíra

Environmental law, sustainability

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Patrícia Kodaira is an environmental lawyer with extensive experience in contaminated areas, environmental licensing, environmental civil liability, protected areas, climate change, solid waste, biodiversity, projects to develop sustainable production chains together with traditional communities, leading suppliers, and development arrangements located in the Amazon. Patrícia also works and publishes studies on solid waste (Solid Waste: a subject in increasing judicialization. DESIGN, WASTE & DIGNITY. São Paulo, Editora Olhares); Legal use of water in the industry (Legal use of water in the industry: Industrial processes in the Municipality of Jundiaí-SP. PNMA: 30 years of the National Environmental Policy. São Paulo: Official Press of the State of São Paulo) and in a new law Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (Jota). In addition, she has worked with human rights and refugees in Cambodia and Greece, advocating for vulnerable populations and helping refugees to seek asylum.

Julia Moretti

Julia Moretti

Urban law, sustainability

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Julia Azevedo Moretti holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of São Paulo (USP), a Master’s in Urban Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC/SP), and a Master’s in Environment and Sustainable Development from the University of London (Development Planning Unit – DPU/UCL). Woman, mother, teacher, and lawyer who dedicates her professional and academic career to the design and execution of sustainability projects with social impact, combining legal knowledge with multisectoral processes guided by participatory practices. She worked at the National Secretary of Real Estate Management, providing legal advice for managing strategic projects related to the destination and management of public real estate for land regularization, local development, and sustainable development of the shore. She also has extensive experience in strategic advocacy on human rights, working in judicial and extrajudicial collective cases related to the right to the city and housing. She is currently an assistant professor in the specialization course in Contract Law at COGEAE PUC/SP, working on consumer contracts, private law contracts, public contracts, and contracts of diffuse law and sustainability.

Partnerships

In the press

O que é Bluewashing? - Proteste

Article by founding partners Joana Zylbersztajn and Mayra Cotta published in Proteste magazine, the largest consumer protection association in Latin America, discusses the term “bluewashing” and the mistakes sold on the S axis of the ESG.

 

COP26: Julgamento nos EUA mostra futuro das empresas que vendem mentiras - UOL

Article by Mayra Cotta, Joana Zylbersztajn, and Manoela Miklos published in Leonardo Sakamoto’s column at UOL  talks about the expected future for companies that continue to sell lies.

Compliance em direitos humanos - Estadão

The urgency of including human rights in compliance assessments by companies was the subject of an article by the founding partners of Veredas – Strategies in Human Rights: Joana Zylbersztajn, Mayra Cotta, and Manoela Miklos, published on 11/9/21 on Fausto Macedo’s blog, in Estadão.

Como coibir o assédio no ambiente de trabalho? - Marie Claire

Mayra Cotta participates in the sixth edition of Brazil’s most prominent female leadership meeting, the Power Trip Summit. She talks about how companies deal with cases of moral and sexual harassment of women at work.

Por que ainda perguntar o que ela estava vestindo? - Vogue

Mayra Cotta gives an interview to Vogue Magazine and talks about her recently released book “Women, clothes and work” (Ed. Paralela)

Veredas chega ao mercado para levar dignidade e “ambiente sadio” às relações de trabalho - Revista Poder

Special note from Revista Poder about Veredas, explaining a little about our services and how they fit into the scenario in which the market asks for evolution in relationships and work environments.

Novas Veredas - Folha de São Paulo

Column “Direct from the source” by journalist Sonia Racy informs in a note of the launch of Veredas.

Jeito diferente - Correio Braziliense

Note from the column ‘Seen, read, and heard’ of the printed version of Correio Braziliense and on the Blog do Ari Cunha of the same newspaper; they talk about the launch of Veredas and the consultancy’s proposals.