Youth in the Eastern Amazon: Education and Ethnic-Racial Diversity in Afro-Diasporic Contexts

The right to education as a mechanism for building social equality for Black, peripheral, quilombola, and Indigenous youth remains a persistent challenge in various national contexts. Historically, this theme has been central to Black and Indigenous social movements, which demand educational policies geared toward equity. Ensuring access to and retention in education for these groups is essential to mitigating historical inequalities. The disconnect between youth expectations and the current educational model is reflected in performance and dropout indicators. In 2016, 28% of high school students were more than two years behind in their studies, and 26% dropped out during their first year. The Basic Education Development Index (IDEB) increased by only 0.3 points between 2005 and 2011 and has since stagnated below established targets (BRASIL, 2018, p.6). For Black youth, the report "Youth and Social Policies in Brazil" (IPEA, 2009) highlights structural inequalities that directly affect their opportunities, reflecting the country's social and racial asymmetries. Gender and race issues are key factors in the reproduction of these inequalities, challenging the notion of racial democracy in Brazil. Regarding quilombola and Indigenous youth, in addition to access and retention difficulties, there is the challenge of an educational model imposed on these communities that disregards their cultural specificities. According to Baniwa Luciano (2006, p.161), high school education in Brazil is structurally exclusionary, following a disciplinary and vocational pattern designed for urban and white spaces. Thus, the current educational model fails to consider the sociocultural particularities of quilombola and Indigenous communities. With the implementation of the New High School model, which proposes curriculum flexibility through formative itineraries, it is essential to develop strategies that ensure the inclusion of all youth in this new context. The National Common Curricular Base (BNCC), approved in 2018, establishes fundamental competencies and skills for student development, also influencing the production of didactic materials. However, despite addressing themes such as youth protagonism, inclusivity, and social problem-solving (MEC, 2021), the BNCC does not directly address the requirements of Laws 10.639/03 and 11.645/08, which ensure the inclusion of Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous cultures in school curricula. The justification for creating a national curriculum base is linked to the modernization of education and the pursuit of better academic performance. However, this modernization has often neglected the experiences and knowledge of historically marginalized groups, treating them as obstacles to progress (SILVÉRIO, 2023). Similarly, the New High School model, implemented in 2017, prioritizes career-oriented education but fails to fully consider the regional and cultural particularities of Brazil’s diverse youth populations. High school education should be a space for integral formation, allowing young people different ways of engaging with the world by valuing not only academic knowledge and professional skills but also new information technologies and cultural diversity. This model is essential for building an economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and culturally democratic society (SILVÉRIO, 2023). Thus, this study presents initial data from a research and academic mobility project that aims to centralize the voices of Black, quilombola, and Indigenous youth, whose experiences and cultures have been systematically marginalized within the Brazilian educational context. This is an interinstitutional and international project involving researchers from Brazilian universities such as the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), and the Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), as well as U.S. institutions such as Georgia State University, Florida International University, and Xavier University of Louisiana. Focusing on the Eastern Amazon (covering the states of Pará, Maranhão, Amapá, Tocantins, and Mato Grosso), the project seeks to understand the diverse forms of youth experiences in these territories, emphasizing Black, Indigenous, and quilombola youth. The methodological framework is structured in three phases. The first phase involves producing and systematizing social indicators related to youth and their access to high school education. The second phase consists of analyzing and disseminating project results through an interactive digital platform. The third phase will establish cooperative groups and remote exchanges between youth from Brazil and the United States, allowing them to record their aesthetic, political, social, and future-oriented perceptions. The project's goal is to provide theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical resources for professionals in Basic Education, fostering an intercultural dialogue that acknowledges youth in their uniqueness and contributes to the development of a more equitable and inclusive educational system. References BRASIL. Guia de Implementação do Novo Ensino Médio. Brasília, 2018. Ministério da Educação. IPEA. Juventude e políticas sociais no Brasil. Brasília: Ipea, 2009. LUCIANO, Gersem dos S. Índio Brasileiro: o que você precisa saber sobre os povos indígenas no Brasil de hoje. Brasília: Ministério da Educação, Secretaria de Educação Continuada, Alfabetização e Diversidade. SILVÉRIO, Valter. Nota técnica sobre ensino médio e relações étnico-raciais. Disponível em:https://d3e.com.br/wp-content/uploads/nota-tecnica_2307_ensino-medio-et….