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The future of Brazil will be in the spotlight of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil and CBN radio debates to be broadcast from Espaço Reserva Cultural in São Paulo on 13, 20 and 27 September.

The three-part series of weekly radio debates, The Future Of Brazil, is a co-production between ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil and its re-broadcasting FM partner, CBN. The debates will be broadcast via CBN radio. Video clips from the series also will be available via the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil website, bbcbrasil.com and CBN website, cbn.com.br.

Moderated by CBN presenters, and featuring ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil journalists as well as leading experts on Brazil, the series focuses on the country's development prospects, examining the immediate challenges posed by the economy and education. The series also scrutinises Brazil's relationship with the rest of the world.

Head of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil, Rogério Simões, says: "At this crucial moment in the country's history, when Brazilians are preparing to elect their leadership, it is important to consider the current situation, resources and potential of the nation, as well as her weaknesses.

"We thought it was the right time to take a look at what the future may hold for Brazil. ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil and CBN teamed up for this series to look ahead in search of possible consequences of decisions and choices that the country will make on 3 October 2010."

Details of the series follow:

Monday 13 September 2010: "Wealth of Brazil – Challenges of Economy"

Moderator: Carlos Alberto Sardenberg, CBN

Participants: Gustavo Franco, economist, partner of Rio Bravo Investments and former president of Central Bank; Fabio Giambiagi, economist, BNDES, Brazilian Development Bank; Professor Antônio Corrêa de Lacerda, economist, professor at Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo; Fabricia Peixoto, reporter, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil.

Monday 20 September 2010: "Competence of Brazil – the Role of Education"

Moderator: Milton Jung, CBN

Participants: Ilona Becskeházy, executive director, Lemann Foundation; Gustavo Ioschpe, economist, specializes in economy of education, contributor to Veja Magazine, author of "The Value of Education for the Brazilian Development"; Naércio Menezes, professor at Insper Institute, PhD in Economy from University of London; Mozart Neves Ramos, member of the board, "All for Education" organisation; Diego Toledo, editor, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil.

Monday 27 September: "Brazil in the World – Foreign Policies and Environmental Protection"

Moderator: Heródoto Barbeiro, CBN

Participants: Professor Sérgio Besserman, professor of Economy at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro; Luiz Felipe Lampreia, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil; Professor Ricardo Seitenfus, professor of International Affairs at Federal University of Santa Maria, representative of the Organisation of American States in Haiti; Rogério Simães, Head, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil; Professor José Eli da Veiga, Head Professor of the Economy Department, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Accounting, University of São Paulo.

The debates will take place at Espaço Reserva Cultural (Av. Paulista, 900), in São Paulo, from 20.00 to 21.30 local time on Mondays 13, 20 and 27 September. Application forms for those who want to be part of the audience are available via cbn.com.br, bbcbrasil.com and ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil Twitter page. The number of seats is limited.

Notes to Editors

´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil is a multimedia operation, with the internet as its main platform – through bbcbrasil.com and its partners such as UOL, MSN Brasil, IG, Terra, G1, Folha Online and Estadão which syndicate the bbcbrasil.com content on their news sites. According to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ audience appreciation survey, PULSE, bbcbrasil.com was rated as "exceptionally good" by its visitors, receiving Net Promoter scores consistently higher than 60. (Net Promoter scores are the industry standard for measuring user loyalty to websites. The Net Promoter scale runs from -100 to 100, with scores over 60 recognised as "exceptionally good", 59 – as "very good" etc.). The ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil radio is currently available via partner network CBN which re-broadcasts the ´óÏó´«Ã½ news bulletins. ´óÏó´«Ã½ Brasil also has a partnership with Bandeirantes TV which re-broadcasts on its prime-time news programmes international news video clips available on the bbcbrasil.com website.

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