Brazil Institute Woodrow Wilson Awards 2019

The Brazil Institute's Woodrow Wilson Awards Dinner Highlights

On November 15, 2019, the 130th Proclamation of the Brazilian Republic, the Wilson Center's Brazil Institute honored Congressman Rodrigo Maia, President of the Brazilian Federal Chamber of Deputies, with the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service in New York. In his third term as president of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil, the legislative body that best represents the Brazilian people, Speaker Maia has gained the respect and admiration of millions of Brazilians by leading a process of structural reforms to modernize the Brazilian state and economy. In his acceptance speech, Speaker Maia stressed the need to address poverty and inequality, to strengthen trade and bilateral exchange, and to remember that "a nation is strong only when institutions are strong."

In honoring Rodrigo Maia, the Wilson Center celebrates the efforts of Brazil’s legislative branch to set aside partisanship and debate and approve legislation capable of producing beneficial results for the country, as illustrated by the Congress's recent approval of Brazil's long-awaited social security reform, a watershed moment. In this spirit, the Brazil Institute was honored to host many members of the Brazilian Federal Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate in New York, including President of the Senate Davi Alcolumbre. Their presence attests to the conviction among elected representatives in Congress of the need to seek, through dialogue that respects differences, constructive and efficient responses to the enormous challenges that Brazil currently faces.

The Awards Dinner also served to recognize and thank Ambassador Anthony Harrington, the driving force behind the Brazil Institute Advisory Council for almost two decades, as well as Minister Nelson Jobim and Ambassador Thomas Shannon, who have assumed the joint chairmanship of the Council and will guide the Brazil Institute in its task of bridging the worlds of ideas and public policy.

Since 1998, the Wilson Center has recognized exemplary individuals who reflect the values of the United States' 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, a leader who believed that "There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed." Previous honorees of the Award include Presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; biologist Dr. Thomas Lovejoy; pediatrician Zilda Arns; journalist Ruy Mesquita; and former U.S. Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Hillary Clinton.

All proceeds from the Awards Dinner will benefit the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute. The only research entity dedicated exclusively to Brazil in Washington, the Institute has worked since its founding in 2006 to increase understanding in Washington of Brazil’s complex realities, through research, debates, and conferences as well as other activities to bring Brazilian and American societies closer together.

"Let us nourish our dreams of living in a freer, fairer, and more humane country."

-- Rodrigo Maia, President of the Federal Chamber of Deputies, at the November 19, Woodrow Wilson Awards

To view photos from the event, click here.