ServDes.2023

It’s been three weeks since ServDes.2023 in Rio. We had an incredible time together, sharing and immersed in many thoughtful conversations.
The organising committee is back at work after two weeks off to provide you with conference proceedings, photographs, certificates, and other details.
Stay tuned for the next updates and, once again, thank you for making ServDes.2023 so memorable!

On Saturday, the 15th of July at 10 am, a tour guide is preparing a special walking tour with ServDes.2023 participants to visit Little Africa, places in Rio historically linked to African heritage from the (sad) slavery time in Brazil.

The tour is organised by Florencios Tour and has a cost of R$ 99,00 per person (paid to the organiser).

Find below the itinerary and link to register:

Museum of History and African-Brazilian Culture (MUHCAB)

The MUHCAB is a museum of territory – located in Little Africa, with the Valongo Wharf, a World Heritage Site, as its ground zero. The museum intends to tell the story of the region that witnessed the largest landing of enslaved Africans in the world, important milestones of black affirmation in Brazil, and the development of Afro-Brazilian cultural identity.

The Museum cover the arrival of enslaved Africans at Cais do Valongo, the slave period, the pre-and post-abolition, to contemporary days, passing through relevant historical, social, cultural, artistic, and religious factors linked to black culture

Instituto Pretos Novos (IPN) Archaeological Site

A Memorial to the Newly arrived African enslaved in Rio. Those who arrived between the mid-eighteenth and late nineteenth century.

Valongo Quayside – A UNESCO World Archaeological Heritage Site

During Rio de Janeiro’s undergoing large-scale urban transformations in preparation for Rio’s 2016 Summer Olympics games, the port zone had been revitalized, and archaeological diggings recovered evidence of its past. Moreover, some of the major findings have been in the subsoil of one of the area’s main squares, the stone structures of the Valongo Quayside, the busiest slave port in the Americas in the 19th.

Valongo Quayside Archaeological World Heritage Site not only represents the main African enslaved arrival port throughout the Americas – it is an emblematic place of the African diaspora and the world slavery route.

Pedro II Docks Warehouse

Also known as André Rebolças Docks. Built between 1871 and 1876 by the Afro-Brazilian engineer André Rebouças (1838-1898). In fact, the building was meant to be a railway station to increase coffee exports.

Pedra do Sal (Salt’ Stone) – Rio’s State Cultural Heritage

Pedra do Sal is a historical and religious monument; it’s the birthplace of samba and Carnival in Rio.

Pedra do Sal Prainha Square

One of the slave markets places of the region Valongo, mina slaves, and later hostesses the Zungus houses (The mush houses) were true urban quilombos (Morrons), in cities where black people used to make their drums, their dances, and revered their deities.

Moreover, at Largo da Prainha you will see the statue of Mercedes Baptista, the very first statue of a black woman in Rio. Mercedes Batista was the first Afro-Brazilian dancer to be part of the ballet group at the renowned Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro in the late 1940s.

At Largo da Prainha, you’ll find a small restaurant with authentic Brazilian food, drinks, appetizers, and snacks.

End of Rio Little Africa Tour

LINK TO REGISTER AND PAY

Next week will be warm in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The week will start sunny with some clouds, and the maximum temperatures will still be around 28 °C.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the sun will shine brightly, and temperatures will rise sharply, with maximums reaching around 34 °C in the middle of winter.
On Thursday, the weather conditions will begin to change. The day will still start sunny and hot, but the approach of a new cold front could cause strong gusts of wind throughout the day, especially in the afternoon. Moderate-intensity rain will arrive during the night.
On Friday, the sky will remain predominantly cloudy, with light and isolated rain at any time of the day, mainly in the morning. We will already be under the influence of a colder air mass, and temperatures will significantly decrease, with maximums not expected to exceed 22 °C in the capital of Rio de Janeiro.

As we will be together next week, you should already be preparing for the trip to Rio de Janeiro.

Transportation: For getting around the city, consider using private cars such as licensed taxis or apps like Uber.

Currency: The local currency is the Brazilian Real (R$/BRL) and you cannot use any other currency to make payments in Brazil. You can check the official exchange rate for each day here: (https://www.bcb.gov.br/conversao). It is preferable to make payments using debit or credit cards. All establishments accept cards, as cash is rarely used in Brazil.

Weather: We are currently in winter, and temperatures in Rio de Janeiro can vary. Bring clothes suitable for temperatures ranging from 30 to 20 degrees Celsius. There is a forecast of rain for next Thursday only.

As we like to say in Rio, we are welcoming you with open arms (like the statue of Christ the Redeemer)!

Reach out to us if you need any further information.

Did you ever think about what’s behind the food you eat?
At ServDes we care about every step of the food service. This is why our team has chosen local and small producers to provide the catering. The menus will reflect the Brazilian and the Carioca cultures, as well as support the local community, women and black entrepreneurs.

Last but not least, the coffee breaks, lunches, and the conference dinner will be vegetarian and vegan to accommodate various dietary restrictions, including kosher and halal considerations.

We can assure you will have a really meaningful gastronomic experience at ServDes!

Here are some helpful information such as the airport options to arrive in Rio and the visa policy for Brazil.

🛬 Airports:
Galeão (GIG) is the international airport of Rio de Janeiro. Most international airlines operate flights directly to and from GIG.

Santos Dumont (SDU) is a regional airport. International airlines offer flights to SDU with a stop in São Paulo.

Both airports are located in Rio, so you can choose the best option.

🛂 Travel documents:
Check Brazil’s visa policy. A letter confirming your approval can be provided to you if you have an approved submission and need a visa.

Passports must be valid for at least six months at the time of entry with one blank visa page. Citizens of South American countries can enter Brazil with a valid ID card.

Check here: visa requirements

We remind you that at least one author must register for the conference for the submission to be included in the proceedings by the 14th of May.

Check here!

For over three decades, he has worked in the field of sustainable design. Recently, his focus has shifted to social innovation, which is considered a significant driver of sustainable change. With this perspective, he founded DESIS: an international network of design schools engaged in social innovation and sustainability.

Currently, he serves as the President of the DESIS Network and is an Honorary Professor at the Politecnico di Milano. In the past decade, he has been a guest professor at various design schools worldwide, including Elisava – Design School and Engineering (Barcelona), Tongji University (Shanghai), Jiangnan University (Wuxi), University of the Arts (London), CPUT (Cape Town), and Parsons – The New School for Design (NYC).

His recent publications include “Design, When Everybody Designs” (MIT Press, 2015), “Politics of the Everyday” (Bloomsbury, 2019), and “Plug-ins: Design for City Making in Barcelona” (co-authored with Albert Fuster and Roger Paez, Elisava and Actar Publishers, 2023).

We’re happy to announce Ezio as a speaker at ServDes.2023!

Register today! Regular fee will be available until 14 May 2023.

Daniela Sangiorgi is an Associate Professor and Head of the Master in Product Service System Design at Politecnico di Milano. She has dedicated her research career to the birth and development of service design as a design discipline and research field, with a particular focus on public innovation and healthcare. A co-editor of two seminal books in the area, she has published extensively in design and service-related international journals.