BRASA’s Executive Committee has approved a new set of strategic priorities to guide the association’s work through 2028. Developed by BRASA’s officers and Executive Secretariat, the plan builds on the association’s established strengths while identifying opportunities to better serve its members, support the field of Brazilian Studies, and contribute to public understanding of Brazil.
Under the theme “Strengthening a Shared Space for Brazilian Studies,” the plan affirms BRASA’s role as an inclusive and internationally connected space for producing and circulating knowledge about Brazil, from Brazil, and with Brazil.
The priorities recognize the international congress as BRASA’s central gathering and most visible activity. They also envision a stronger year-round association—one that connects its members between congresses, supports the institutions and networks that sustain Brazilian Studies, develops meaningful partnerships, and makes the expertise of its community more accessible when Brazil becomes the subject of international attention and debate.
The plan is organized around five priorities.
Strengthen year-round communication
BRASA will develop an integrated communication structure connecting its website, newsletter, WhatsApp community, and social media channels.
The redesigned website—one of the first visible results of this work—will serve as BRASA’s institutional home and central source for news, opportunities, and information about the association. Over time, it can also host teaching materials and other resources developed by BRASA-supported networks.
These channels will support a light calendar of activities between international congresses, including virtual lectures, conversations with award recipients, and events organized around research and teaching initiatives.
Support research and the intellectual infrastructure of Brazilian Studies
BRASA will strengthen its relationships with the journals, academic presses, book series, awards, and research and teaching networks that sustain Brazilian Studies.
Possible initiatives include collaborative projects with journals and presses, a review of BRASA’s awards portfolio, and new forms of support for scholarship produced in Brazil. The association will also explore partnerships around emerging research communities, including a prospective Indigenous Studies initiative, and support the continued development of the Brazil Teachers Network.
BRASA’s role will be to connect and strengthen existing initiatives while respecting their independence and avoiding the duplication of work already being done across the field.
Map the field and strengthen institutional connections
Brazilian Studies is broad, interdisciplinary, and dispersed across universities, research centers, associations, journals, and other institutions in Brazil and abroad.
BRASA will explore a mapping initiative to better understand where Brazilian Studies is being taught and produced, how the field is distributed across disciplines and regions, and what challenges its scholars and institutions currently face.
This work will be accompanied by closer engagement with scholarly associations in Brazil and internationally. Particular attention will be given to collaborations that create tangible opportunities for members, including reciprocal conference participation, shared calls, joint sessions, publication projects, and scholarly exchanges.
Enhance BRASA’s public relevance
BRASA’s membership includes extensive expertise on Brazilian politics, society, history, culture, law, economics, the environment, and international relations. The association will explore responsible ways to make this knowledge more accessible to journalists, public institutions, policymakers, and other audiences.
Proposed initiatives include an expert hub through which BRASA members can be identified by topic, region, and language. BRASA will also monitor hearings, consultations, and public debates in which the knowledge of its community may make a useful contribution.
This agenda will respect both BRASA’s scholarly character and the autonomy of its members while creating avenues for more informed public discussion about Brazil.
Prepare the next BRASA International Congress
Planning for the next international congress will be one of BRASA’s central responsibilities during this period.
The association will begin by examining the post-conference survey from BRASA XVIII and identifying lessons from the Salvador congress. The Executive Committee will then collaboratively consider options concerning the next congress’s location, partnerships, scale, format, timeline, resources, and governance.
The next congress will also provide an opportunity to bring the other strategic priorities together by showcasing research and teaching networks, strengthening institutional partnerships, connecting scholars across countries and career stages, and opening selected dimensions of Brazilian Studies to wider audiences.
Moving forward together
The five priorities are designed to reinforce one another. Stronger communication can increase the visibility of publications, awards, partnerships, and public initiatives. A better understanding of the field can guide BRASA’s programming and institutional relationships. The international congress can bring these efforts together as a regular moment of collective exchange and renewal.
Implementation will be collaborative. Members of the Executive Committee will help guide individual initiatives, involve other BRASA members and institutional partners, and regularly assess progress and emerging needs.
Through this work, BRASA seeks to consolidate what it has built while extending the value it creates before, during, and between its international congresses.
Read BRASA’s 2026–2028 Strategic Priorities: