Let´s grow Forró
Growing Forró are achievements of groups and individuals all over the world. The Forró Federation is a fusion of these efforts to create event greater results. If you like to support this cause, please join us! :)
Growing Forró are achievements of groups and individuals all over the world. The Forró Federation is a fusion of these efforts to create event greater results. If you like to support this cause, please join us! :)
We value your feedback. You can vote for existing ideas, discuss them or add your own.
This is an proposal inspired by an idea of Eva Barros -------------- 1) 🤌SUMMARY: *Conduct online Portuguese classes and online language exchanges to increase the level of Portuguese within the Forró community* 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: This idea would be partially modelled on the Online Language Exchange, which you can read about here: https://onlinelanguageexchange.com/en/ *WHAT is the objective?* - To increase the level of Portuguese within the forró community outside Brazil - Help forrozeiros to meet new people outside their local community, who they are likely to meet at festivals - Help Brazilian forrozeiros to learn European languages and meet forrozeiros outside Brazil prior to travels *Steps:* -> Recruit a small group of professional PT teachers to create course material and conduct classes online, starting with beginners and then expanding to advanced, using forró songs, history, and vocabulary as learning resources -> Organise weekly language exchanges using Airmeet (airmeet.com) or similar where people can gather and practice both Portuguese and other languages. *HOW would it look like?* -> Forrozeiros would pay for PT lessons scheduled by teachers based upon demand -> Fofed would market these lessons, and provide startup funding for the teachers -> Fofed members would be able to participate in both classes and language exchanges for free, and non-members would pay fees, either monthly or for drop-ins -> Courses would be completely coordinated and run by the teachers, while Fofed would coordinate the language exchanges -> Airmeet, and similar online conferencing tools like Zoom, allow people to segregate into tables, so that people can find their level and target language, such as PT-Beginners, DE-Intermediate, etc... 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* Fofed would advertise to recruit PT teachers from the forró community, and initiate a pilot class to assess demand. At the same time we would set up a pilot language exchange. From there we would consult with the community about how to expand or modify the initiative.
Publish the English translation of the book O que é o Forró – Um apanhado da História do forró (What is Forró - An overview of the history of forró) by Dias and Dupan (2022). This book is a starting point for those who are new to the universe of Forró and a deeper dive for those who are already close to it. Edit and release the digital book in English on different platforms with free and permanent access. Disseminate the Culture and History of Forró, especially from the 1940s onwards, not only in Europe but anywhere and to anyone who reads English, expanding the knowledge of lay people and professionals involved with this Art. Proofreading the translated version Formatting the final manuscript to suit digital platforms (e-book format); Publication of the book in digital format. Costs: Translation: 700 euros Formatting to E-book: 150 euros Total cost: 850 euros
A cozy and different Forró, featuring eight female voices in contemporary versions of some Forró classics. Mariana Aydar, Gaby Amarantos, Céu, Luedji Luna, Rachel Reis, Gabi da Pele Preta, Juliana Linhares and Assucena got together to perform the first volume of the Forró do Mundo project. A vinyl disc that brings together the Forró's traditional elements and gains reinforcement from new sound elements. Get ready for a pop and contemporary sound that transcends regional borders. The vinyl project is already running, it will be released on November/2023. We are asking for a sponsorship to help the project financial health. If the FoFed could help us, we would print your logo in the LP's back cover and send some copies for you to distribute to the FoFed members and DJs. Cost: 300 euros Bonus: 5 Vinyl discs Pre-sale: https://benfeitoria.com/projeto/vinilforrodomundo Link to listen the songs: https://open.spotify.com/intl-pt/album/5wsbRdrp4SdHpjv4uMZJUG
1) 🤌SUMMARY: *Have Forró event listing individuals get to know each other, to give them a chance to distribute efforts and/or find sweet spots for collaboration or merging and thus creating better & reliable overview. 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *CONTEXT:* There are several individuals in Europe who started to curate lists of Forró festivals or events. Currently we are aware of 5 simple festival lists plus two major development projects with focus on Forró. Each offer has it´s advantages and disadvantages (simplicity, completeness, reliability, findability on the internet etc.). Some lists die out after a while as they depend on individuals´ efforts. Nonetheless we assume they share a common goal to create an overview for forrozeiros as complete and reliable as possible. *WHAT is the objective?* - Get to more consistent service for dancers and professionals - Avoid double work / Unite the good intentions of Forró listing iniatiatives and bring individuals together - for better service with less work for the individual - Generally fuel the idea of cross-national collaboration in the Forró scene *Steps:* - Identify & approach individuals who are curating online lists or services - arrange a meeting to exchange on each one´s intentions and vision - find out together if and how to collaborate - follow-up in case support is needed in moderation or emerging projects 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* The outcome of this initiative cannot be foreseen, as it will depend on the individuals ideas and motivation if and how they want to work together. It could lead to a merging of lists, could lead to forming teams, could be working together for better APIs, could be anything else. It is part of this proposal to discover the opportunities for collaboration by getting to know each ones intentions and each ones struggles to achieve their intentions.
1) 🤌SUMMARY: *Based loosely on the EuroVision Song Contest, each region/country in Europe sends a local forró band to compete for prizes and showcase local talent.* 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *WHAT is the objective?* - To showcase and recognise the talents of locally based forró bands from around Europe. - To create a European-uniting experience *HOW would it look like?* -> An established festival would partner with FoFed to dedicate their festival to a forró band contest, with an awards ceremony at the end that recognises local bands. -> FoFed and the host festival grant awards to the winner bands in categories such as new music, novel renditions, creativity, cultural fidelity, makes-you-dance factor or other qualities that the community wishes to celebrate in our music scene -> The selection of bands to showcase happens in a uniform selection process across the continent, developed in collaboration with FoFed and it´s regional ambassadors (check here our current setup of Forró regions and it´s ambassadors: https://forrofederation.com/about-the-federation/team/) 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* If you vote for this idea, it is mandatory to also comment below if YOU YOURSELF would participate in making it reality - either as a partnering festival organizer, or by leading the initiative, by being part of a volunteering team, or putting yourself forward as a band to showcase your talents If we want to realize this idea, we will need feedback to estimate the expected participation & demand!
1) 🤌SUMMARY: Usually ticket system fees are 6% of each ticket. The federation can provide that kind of ticketing system for free to all its members. Costs will be covered by membership fees. Service includes a wide array of features aimed at making organising forró events as effortless as possible. Free usage = no fees except for Stripe or PayPal, Omni-pay for payment processing in most countries, with offline payments so you can collect pre-orders and RSVPs, but get paid by bank transfer or cash. ! The DEVELOPMENT would be PAID BY FOFED membership fees (see below)! 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *WHAT is the objective?* Save costs for forró organizers and make organising forró events as effortless as possible. *HOW would it look like/List of features:* - Mobile friendly event pages. - Easy attendee management - Refunds, Messaging etc. - Data export - attendees list to XLS, CSV etc. - Generate print friendly attendee list. - Ability to manage unlimited events. - Real-time event statistics. - Customizable event pages. - Multiple currency support. - Quick and easy checkout process. - Customizable tickets - with QR codes, organiser logos etc. - Fully brandable - Have your own logos on tickets etc. - Affiliate tracking - track sales volume / number of visits generated etc. - Widget support - embed ticket selling widget into existing websites / WordPress blogs. - Social sharing. - Support multiple payment gateways - Stripe and PayPal out the box. Other payment gateways can be added. - Support for offline payments. - Refund payments - partial refund & full refunds. - Ability to add service charge to tickets. - Messaging - eg. Email all attendees with X ticket. - Public event listings page for organisers. - Ability to ask custom questions during checkout. - Browser based QR code scanner for door management. - Multi-user permissions 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* This Ticketing System would be developed by Tuvens.com. It would be free to members of the Federation, but there would be costs to be covered by the Forró Federation (money from FoFed membership fees): - one-time license fee: €500 - Software development: €1,000 - yearly hosting & maintenance: €400
1) 🤌SUMMARY: *Workshops for Forró Creators ONLINE and/or on Forró Festivals .* 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *WHAT is the objective?* To offer knowledge where it is lacking, to support the professionalization in Forró. *HOW would it look like?* -> Workshop topics would be proposed by FoFed members, revised by the FoFed board to ensure diverse content, and HOLD BY TOPIC EXPERTS (coordinated by FoFed) ->Topics could be for example: Financial management, Forró History, Teacher training, Dance ethics & harassment, Festival management, Forró promotion and marketing tips -> The person conducting the workshop would be paid by FoFed (either a FoFed member or an external professional) -> Workshops would be free for FoFed members and the material available afterwards -> For non-members the workshop/material MIGHT be associated with costs 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* If you vote for this idea, it is mandatory to also comment below if YOU YOURSELF would participate in such workshops as - 1) ONLINE workshops OR - 2) a LIVE WORKSHOPS (during a Forró festival as side program) OR - 3) ONLINE COURSES (using training tools such as Participate.com) - 4) a COMBINATION of the above Please also already comment which topics you imagine would be in demand for those professionalization workshops! If we want to realize this idea, we need this feedback to estimate the expected participation & content demand !
1) 🤌SUMMARY: *A Forró Blog where contributors from all around the community & countries publish their knowledge, thoughts and ideas about Forró-related topics.* 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *WHAT is the objective?* Create a central place to stay updated, inform and exchange developments in the Forró world. *HOW would it look like?* Forró Federation would host on its page & promote through its channels a Forró Blog, where writers publish content under their names. In the beginning, we would approach people that we know of to have interesting sharings, and hope to soon get a steady flow of new content for the audience to read and exchange. *TOPICS already in mind:* - Advice on how you can grow your community - Interviews with central figures from the Forró scene - Cultural knowledge (music, artists, history) - Presenting projects in the Forró World to make them more known (e.g. projects like Zabumba Without Borders, academic research projects, etc.) - Features about the newest developments in the scene (e.g. safer space movement) - Feature about professional content (e.g. train the trainer program) - Columns with personal opinions from contributors to inspire exchange and progress - Content that so far only existed in Portuguese (e.g. text about forró&homophobia) - Curating lists of artists/teachers/bands or other service providers in Forró - ... and whatever else interesting topic is out there to share with a wider audience 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* We from the FoFed board would like to start this central Forró Blog anyway and have already started the first basic setup of a blog on the FoFed website. We are putting this idea to this public voting board to get feedback and ideas from you on how to make it most valuable to a wide audience 💭 Also if you are up for volunteering (a blog is a lot of administrative work too), reach out to us! :)
1) 🤌SUMMARY: *Fofed would invest time&ressources into building Partnerships with other dance scenes (Salsa, Bachata, Swing etc.) and Brazilian Cultural Institutes (embassies etc.)* 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *WHAT is the objective?* --> to create OPPORTUNITIES for Fofed members for performances and/or to give classes at more mainstream/MASS EVENTS (e.g. a huge Salsa festival). -> to make FoFed known as central contact point for Forró related information & by this build connections between FoFed members and interested people outside the forró community in Europe *HOW would it look like?* Fofed would create a new membership type for honorary and affiliate members. An honorary member would be an entity or individual dedicated to forró culture, such as academic research. An affiliate may be an organisation promoting Brazilian culture, either internationally or locally in their region, or it could be a similar organisation similar to the Forró Federation in another dance style, or capoeira. Steps would be taken to include members of the Forró Federation in the initiatives of these honorary or affiliate members, to broaden the reach of forró, and to free tickets and other benefits that include these parties in forró festivals. *Partnerships/Iniatives already in mind_* Canto da Ema / Paulo Rosa Instituto Orgulho de ser Nordestino / Afonso Gomes Embratur / Thiago Prata Funarte / Maria Maristela 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* This comprehensive plan includes the identification of potential partners, the development of partnership proposals, the implementation and monitoring of joint actions, as well as ongoing evaluations to ensure that we are fulfilling our mission. We believe that by working together, we can promote professionalization, visibility, knowledge exchange, and communication within the Forró community, creating a lasting and positive impact on the European cultural scene. * Identification of Potential Partners: * Research and identify Forró organizations and professionals in Europe with related interests and activities. * Gather contact information and create a database of potential partners. * Development of Partnership Proposals: * Draft specific partnership proposals for each potential organization or professional. * Prepare documents and presentations highlighting the benefits of collaboration. * Communication and Outreach: * Contact potential organizations and professionals through emails and phone calls. * Schedule exploratory meetings to present partnership proposals. * Initial Negotiation: * Initiate negotiations with interested organizations and professionals to assess mutual interest and discuss preliminary terms. * Initial Monitoring: * Establish a simple monitoring system to track the progress of negotiations and the status of potential partnerships. * Preliminary Documentation: * Prepare pre-agreement documents that can serve as a basis for future formal contracts or agreements. * External Communication: * Maintain communication with the Forró community in Europe by promoting potential partnerships and highlighting the benefits for the Forró scene. * Planning for Future Meetings and Activities: * Plan future meetings with potential partners. * Set a schedule for implementing partnership activities.
🤌SUMMARY: *A survey to better understand the Forró situation around Europe How are the communities and professionals doing? Where is support needed? What kind of support is needed?* /// 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *WHAT is the objective?* Understand the situation of Forró in Europe and what needs to happen to improve and grow. *HOW would it look like?* - a survey sent out to people who have central roles in their local Forró community - questions about size (estimated) and situation in the community - If we get enough valid feedback, the data & findings could be added to the locations in the Forró Map (https://forrofederation.com/map/) -> for visitors of the map to get a better understanding on context & size of each community (with the timestamp of 2023/24) - If we get clear impressions in which topics support is needed, we could start initiative(s) to support. /// ℹ️*SPECIAL NOTES* If this idea gets upvoted, we would still need to find volunteers to realize the survey (creating, sending, reaching out to missing responses) as well as to realize the possible initiatives to offer support for identified challenges. We already have a good structure of Region Ambassadors in the FoFed Enlarged Board (see: https://forrofederation.com/about-the-federation/team/) who can support to reach out to communities. If you would like to make this happen, contact us! :) forrofederation@gmail.com
1) 🤌SUMMARY: *A congress for Forró workers from all around the community & countries to meet and exchange knowledge, thoughts and ideas about Forró-related topics.* 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *WHAT is the objective?* To meet between Forró workers (and those who want to become) to network, to learn together, to improve practices and expand knowledge! *HOW would it look like?* - A day of activities, classes, networking, dinner, in a central location in Europe. - Proposal is Brussels, because it is central and could be more easyly organised by Thiago Lima - Free for FoFed members. - With the money raised from non-members, we could reimburse part of the travel expenses of members 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* Please vote on this proposal, if you would ACTUALLY be interested in attending such congress, and also comment in which setting and for which activities you would come to attend. If there is enough interest, the congress could then be organized by Thiago Lima (from Ai Que Bom Brussels), but more volunteers are much appreciated!
1) 🤌SUMMARY: *A site on the Forró Federation Website where you can track where Forró Bands, DJs and Teachers are travelling.* 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *WHAT is the objective?* Dancers and event organizers can follow their favourite artists more easily because their is a central place where Bands, DJs and Teachers entered their tour dates&places. *HOW would it look like?* - Forró Federation would host on its website an easy possibility for professionals to add & edit their tour dates. - An alternative would be that that professionals create an Instagram account where they only post their tour dates. This account can be linked to the federation website to list all of your posts including the tour dates. 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* If this idea gets upvoted, we need o find a volunteer taking ownership to shape the tracker and make it known and used by Forró artist. Please leave your ideas or feedback in the comments :)
1) 🤌SUMMARY: *Discussion rounds for Forró professionals to exchange on professional topics.* 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *WHAT is the objective?* To revive purposeful face-to-face exchange between professionals. Context: One year after the founding of Forró Federation, in 2021, Forró Federation had already organized online discussion rounds in a smaller group of professionals - the topics were handling the Covid-crisis, best practices for classes and events and teacher´s training. *QUESTION / IDEA-FINDING* We would like to know how strong is the interest in reviving online exchange group meetings for professionals ? --> if strong interest, please VOTE up for this idea (using your name) 🗳️ AND share your opinion in the comments 💬: --> with which setting? (open discussion, brainstorming workshop-style or other; different hosts from the community or orga&moderation mainly through FoFed) --> with which topics ? 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* This idea will only be realized if there is enough interested profesionals and enough topics feedbacked that you would like to exchange on in a group setting.
1) 🤌SUMMARY: Subsidise (partially or fully) forró classes for children, starting with festivals and then regular classes. 2) 🗯️DETAILED IDEA: *CONTEXT:* The forró community in Europe is maturing. Many people who started forró in their 20s now have small families, which makes it difficult to participate in festivals. At the same time if the community is to embed itself outside Brazil it must attract the next generation, meaning creating opportunities for children to learn forró, even through quadrilha or similar set dances. There are a handful of children's forró classes in Europe, including that provided by Le P'tit Bal Perdu in France, but it is not common. *WHAT is the objective?* - Increase the level of festival participation by families - Increase the number of forró activities and classes in Europe for children - Provide opportunities for existing forró teachers to learn how to teach children, and guidance on any local regulations with regard to child safety *Steps:* - Identify a leader conduct research and coordinate with stakeholders - Conduct a survey to estimate demand from parents - Identify & approach individuals who are currently teaching forró to children - arrange online workshops and idea sessions to provide guidance to those who wish to do this - identify festival organisers willing to introduce child-specific classes to their schedules 3) ℹ️*NOTES / WHAT HAPPENS IF THIS IDEA GETS UPVOTED* It is part of this proposal to conduct research and assess demand for these workshops and classes, and to find out all of the obstacles. Therefore a leader must be identified from the community who feels passionately, whom the Federation can support with initial funding & other resources.
FoFed is in progress of translating the video documentary O Ritmo de Fogo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6e0A-4gIvY&t=6s) into an English version. The objective is that is can be used as promotion video for Forró from anyone who needs to explain what Forró is about.
FoFed is hosting and curating a Map with all Forró Citys - Organizers, Festivals, (traveling) Forró Teachers, Bands and Djs: https://forrofederation.com/map/ The objective is that everyone can easily visit other Forró cities/countries/communities and have a direct entry point who to contact as Forró connection - also to find teachers and musicians to invite their own Forró community and to generally connect with Forró communities closeby or far away.
Fofed could invest time&ressources into curating & distributing monthly lists (via Newsletter/Substack/Social Media) of: - Artists & Teachers coming from Brazil, with the contact information of the promoter - Bands or other artists that have never been to Europe before but are interested (detected e.g. in cooperation with other institutes). - Services of Photo/Videographers, Graphic/Web designers etc. - active and novel Forró-related projects with collaboration opportunities - Forró Festivals
In cooperation with Forró Federation, Ciaran from PlugEvents (www.plug.events/) is currently developing a tool where event organizers can easily promote their events through various channels (Whatsapp, Telegram, email, Instagram, your own website, Facebook, Forró App etc.) by creating it in a single user-friendly site, with helpful features like Duplicate, Templates, Brands, and Org pages.
Previous Newsletter of the Forró Federation can be found here: https://euforrofed.substack.com/ We will continue sending out ForróLetters. Please reach out to us, if you have a topic for the Newletter or can help as a volunteer in the Newsletter team (team around our newest volunteer António Pedro!)
Forró Federation is in process of following up with the winners of the Call for Project 2022 initiative ( https://forrofederation.com/professionals/call-for-projects/ ) in order to judge the success of the initiative and decide on the option to host another round in 2024.