Conversations That Inspire in São Paulo

By Alex Orué, Global Programming Assistant Manager, It Gets Better Project.

One of the many perks of my job is that I not only get to be myself and appreciated for who I am, but I get to work with amazing partners in 19 different countries and on 4 different continents that take our shared mission of uplifting, empowering and connecting LGBTQ+ youth into their own communities. Because our work is mostly online, we only get to connect in person once a year at our Global Summits, where we gather representatives from our Global Affiliate Network for a few days to learn from each other and strengthen our relationships among ourselves and local partners. 

This year’s Global Summit happened back in March in Toronto, Canada, where one of the many amazing projects we learned about was It Gets Better Brasil’s Conversas Que Inspiram, a video series of conversations between queer teachers and queer students supported by Disney. 

It was recognized as the Best Educational Web Series at the Rio WebFest in 2022. At our Global Summit, It Gets Better Brasil announced that Disney had approved their second season, which they had just finished filming back in March. 

From June 6th through the 12th, I got to pay a visit to our colleagues in São Paulo, to support their promotional efforts for this very impactful project during the city’s Pride celebrations, which included a press conference, a public screening, and activities around São Paulo’s Trans March and Pride Parade. 

The press conference happened on Monday, June 5 with the support of Itaú Unibanco (the largest baking institution in Brazil), Grupo Dignidade, and Aliança Nacional LGBTI+.

As a key partner, Disney has been essential in the promotion of this collaboration. I witnessed the taping of an upcoming podcast show on Radio Disney Brasil with special guest Brazil’s drag superstar and artist Pabllo Vittar.

For the big public screening, on Thursday, June 6, a sold-out room got to enjoy the first episode of season one of Conversas Que Inspiram, a trailer for the second season coming soon this October, and panel conversations with producers and guest stars of the two seasons.

“Promoting It Gets Better’s message to a live audience was incredible! We had an amazing week in São Paulo and we couldn’t be more excited for the launch of Conversas Que Inspiram. I hope that more and more queer youth find hope, joy and resources to flourish and thrive.”

– Bruno Ferreira, It Gets Better Brasil coordinator. 

And to close off the week-long visit, I was truly special to have been able to witness the biggest Pride March in the world in the company of It Gets Better Brasil’s team.

Connecting in person with our Affiliate’s members and helping strengthen their partnerships by showing our support in their efforts to inspire LGBTQ+ youth of Brazil is something that we see as a valuable investment. Our Affiliate’s initiatives have had a great impact, and even greater potential to continue to uplift, empower and connect queer youth in the largest country in Latin America through this beautiful series of interviews between very inspiring folks from all walks of life.

You can watch the complete first season on YouTube (captions in English available), and stay tuned for the premier of the second season this upcoming October.

For more information on our Global Program, you can visit itgetsbetter.org/global or email us at global@itgetsbetter.org