The Rede Refugia Platform celebrates one year of fostering the integration of refugees in Brazil
Planeta COPPE / Industrial Engineering / News
Date: 23/06/2025
In this month that marks World Refugee Day (June 20), the Rede Refugia Platform — an initiative linked to the Center for Studies and Practices in Disaster Engineering (Ceped) at Coppe/UFRJ — celebrates its first anniversary.
Conceived by PhD candidate Estevão Leite during his master’s studies in Production Engineering at Coppe, the platform was created to strengthen existing support networks among migrants, serving as a digital tool to facilitate connections without replacing the State’s responsibility to guarantee rights. Over the past year, the team has participated in national discussions on migration policies, such as the 2nd National Conference on Migration, Refuge, and Statelessness held in 2024.
With a participatory approach, Rede Refugia has already directly impacted over 50 individuals and supported more than 20 projects through partner organizations that promote services and opportunities directly through the platform. According to Ceped’s coordinator, Professor Tharcisio Fontainha, this reflects a new perspective in the field of disaster response and humanitarian aid, where refugees themselves play an active role in their integration. “Technology serves as a means to enhance these relationships,” he states.
Among those who have benefited is Maria Gabriela, a migrant and owner of the microenterprise Comida Chévere. Originally from San Joaquin (Carabobo), Venezuela, she was one of the contributors to the platform’s design and says that her life improved after engaging with Rede Refugia, where she even provided catering services. “Through this initiative, we began receiving inquiries from people interested in our services. Additionally, the platform’s dynamic fosters valuable connections among entrepreneurs, businesses, and service providers, offering us guidance and support in multiple ways,” says Maria Gabriela, who has lived in Rio de Janeiro since 2017.
The results of this initiative will be showcased by the Ceped team during the Rio Refugia event, taking place on June 21 and 22, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Sesc Tijuca, with free admission. In addition to platform demonstrations and new user registration — with gifts from Rede Refugia — the event will feature a wide range of multicultural activities, including workshops, music, dance, and a food fair highlighting traditional flavors from the home countries of refugees. The program is organized by Sesc-RJ in partnership with Abraço Cultural, Feira Chega Junto, and Pares Cáritas RJ.
Initiatives like this reinforce Coppe’s role as a hub of innovative and socially impactful solutions, combining academic excellence with a deep commitment to addressing the pressing challenges of our time.
