Rio de Janeiro STARTED IN Urca, IN 1565.
Our conversation begins where we live, And EVERYTHING we do ends up in a story. Urca Institute was born in Urca and reaches across the Americas. Our commons.
Our paradigm for catalyzing change is age old: storytelling. If we are going to awaken minds to action, we have to remember a time when things worked, and envision ways in which things could be better, not only for ourselves, but for our neighbors too.
Connecting Residents, Institutions, Corporations, and Policymakers
Urca Institute gathers stories that connect 1st, 2nd, and 3rd sectors in recognizing the causes that contribute to the improvement of their local communities. As a non-profit organization, we are non-partisan, and cannot endorse candidates for office, nor are we connected to any particular religious organization, rather we promote equality, one story at a time.
The performance of the orator, in an interview such as this, depends a lot on who is doing the interviewing. You two (Octavio and Alexandra) have a lot of charisma. And this charisma, this congeniality, is a gift that not everyone has. From the first moment I met you, you were a duo who made me feel extremely at ease. This friendliness is apparent in your facial expressions, your eyes, your smiles, in your manner of speaking, and in your manner of treating; not everyone can do this. I feel as if I’ve known you for 10,000 years and you put me completely at ease to speak. I think you are on the right path, with the way you act, treat, and consider people; giving them due importance, listening. In this time in which we live, I don’t know anyone like the two of you. You’ve contributed to my happiness by inviting me to say what I wanted to say.
— Carlos Henrique Siqueira, resident of Urca,
engineer of the Rio-Niterói bridge since 1972.
Bar Urca, 17/10/2017.