that's why i say: rio is much more design...

lately i've been constantly amazed, while noting that we are finaly starting to live an age of design in brasil.

today i took part of a meeting articulated by the secretary of culture from the city of rio de janeiro, headed by the secretary jandira feghali, together with subsecretary claudia zarvos (designer graduated from esdi) and subsecretary washington fajardo, in charge of heritage, urban interventions, architecture and design – a pamphleteer name, according to washington, or consistent with its purpose in the words of jandira.

among more than thirty representatives from the "carioca" design scene, a perfect mix: from sérgio rodrigues to oscar metsavaht, from esdi and puc to coopa-roca and daspu, from andré stolarski (tecnopop) to rafael rodrigues (pvdi) and nobu (oestúdio), from the historian rafael cardoso, to ana luisa escorel, bitiz afflalo, claudia moreira salles, joão de souza leite. were all there, and much more. (*)

first of all, congratulations to the secretary of culture for a meeting that was so professionaly organized. and thanks for being invited – and heard.

the enthusiasm of everyone was so that the meeting ended more than two hours later than scheduled - and almost no one left earlier - and still have gone beyond in a lunch with the secretary jandira and some remainders. everyone was full of ideas and willing to believe once more – and to collaborate too – with the proposition presented for a design reference center, that dealt with present, past and future, helping to get together and plan, with the goal to establish a public agenda for the sector, to define the role of design in rebuilding the city and the self-esteem of the carioca (rio's citizens). creating as rodolfo capeto (esdi's director) said, a design policy of state, more perennial, better than that of a government, which is transitional.

all this in the same moment when the design advisory group from the secretary of development from the state of rio de janeiro plans rio+design 2009 (and also the rio+design milano, next april during the furniture fair), when the forum brasil design debuts with the manifest for a brazilian design, and besides so many other things that still cannot be told here (but which will soon be shown at rio de janeiro design scene)...

it seems too good to be true.
but i swear: it's all true ! 

(*) if anyone wants to know who they are, ask me or google them...