Questions/Answers

The NEOJIBA (Centres for Youth and Children's Orchestras of the State of Bahia) program promotes the social development and integration of children, adolescents and young people in situations of vulnerability through collective music teaching and practice in the State of Bahia, the 4th most populous state in Brazil. The State Department of Justice, Human Rights and Social Development, in partnership with the Institute of Social Action for Music, are responsible for implementing the program, which is a pioneering public policy that directly and indirectly benefits more than 4,300 children, adolescents and young people throughout the state. NEOJIBA was founded in 2007 and is the first Brazilian government program inspired by El Sistema, a Venezuelan program of social integration through music created in 1975. Despite being one of the largest states of Brazil, Bahian youth had limited access to the practice of concert music and formal music education. Created initially under the State Department of Culture, NEOJIBA formed the first youth orchestra of Bahia, now nationally and internationally recognized, having already performed seven international tours in Europe and United States alongside great artists. The creation of the Bahia Youth Orchestra offered unique training opportunities to a pioneering youth group, which in time became program multipliers. As of 2011, Musical Practice Centres were created, now a total of 12 in five municipalities in the state. In 2014, NEOJIBA was recognized as a state policy of violence prevention and access to social rights. Through an innovative management model, in partnership with civil society and private companies, it achieved more capillarity and management capacity.

NEOJIBA's mission is to promote in Bahia the development and social integration of children, adolescents and young people in situations of vulnerability through collective teaching and musical practice. We believe that artistic practice should be within the reach of all and be recognized as a means of human development. NEOJIBA encourages youth protagonism through the training and creation of opportunities for young musicians to act as multipliers in their own communities and offers its members an increase in self-esteem, security and future prospects. The musical work of excellence is carried out in parallel with a consistent work of social accompaniment to the members and their families, making NEOJIBA a bridge for access to basic rights and to the improvement of life and health of the participants.

According to the public profile reached and the scope of activities carried out, NEOJIBA falls into the category "Reaching the poorest and most vulnerable through inclusive services and partnerships". According to data from the Social Map carried out annually by the program, 85% of the beneficiary families have a monthly income of up to 3 minimum wages (more than half of that number, 43%, have income of up to 1 minimum wage (US$ 289), in a situation of extreme social vulnerability). Through a broad network of partners in the areas of social care and health, in addition to the participation of sponsors and institutional partners, this population can have access to a social service and an excellent music and human education, completely free of charge.

NEOJIBA is directly related to at least 3 of the 17 Sustainable Development Objectives: Objective 1 - End poverty in all its forms, everywhere: By offering young people new perspectives of life and access to protection and social rights for families, the NEOJIBA Program contributes to the reduction of poverty and for the prevention of violence in highly vulnerable communities in Bahia. Objective 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all: NEOJIBA contributes to ensuring inclusive and quality education for its participants, both through monitoring formal school performance, as well as through the Program's own methodology, focusing on new forms of learning and on the development of individual and collective capacities. Objective 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls: NEOJIBA contributes to gender equality and to greater representation of girls in music. Currently, 49% of the public directly reached by NEOJIBA is composed of girls and the mothers are the main beneficiaries by the social accompaniment actions.

Since its transfer to the Department of Justice, Human Rights and Social Development, NEOJIBA has strengthened its role as a platform for other services and social benefits. One of the examples is access to benefits offered through the Single Register for Social Programs (CadÚnico), an instrument for collecting data and information with the objective of identifying all low income families in the country. Only through inclusion in the CadÚnico can families have access to social programs such as Family Allowance (Bolsa Familia) among other social programs. Since 2014, the Social Development team has already carried out 3590 social attendances and 1094 referrals from families of members of the Program to the Cadúnico.

Ten years after its foundation, it is possible to see the impact of NEOJIBA through the trajectories of its founding members, the 1st generation of musicians who composed the Bahia Youth Orchestra. By 2016, 60% of the Orchestra had entered higher education, in music and other areas. About 15 young people were hired by the program itself and today they act as music teachers and coordinators of nuclei in areas of social vulnerability. About 10 young people were approved in music schools and conservatories in Europe and the USA or in professional orchestras. The trajectory of these young people serves as inspiration and incentive for thousands of other children, now members of NEOJIBA's Musical Practice Centres, and has positive repercussions on their communities and families.

NEOJIBA is the first government program in Brazil inspired by El Sistema and has contributed to a new way of combining the social development of children and adolescents with the artistic practice of excellence. The program also stands out for its innovative management model, being the first social and cultural policy to be managed in partnership with civil society and with the support of private initiative. NEOJIBA also stands out for its network performance, with the creation in 2013 of the Network of Orchestral Projects of Bahia and contributes to the strengthening of 45 small musical projects in 38 municipalities of Bahia.

Although created under the inspiration of the El Sistema Program of Venezuela, NEOJIBA has built a way of acting its own and adapted to the Brazilian and Bahia context. NEOJIBA is inspired by the 5 foundations of El Sistema, namely: 1) collective music practice and multiplication of knowledge, through the training of young multipliers; 2) frequency and attendance of activities, which occur daily, strengthening social bonds and achieving faster artistic results; 3) universal access, offering the activities free of charge and to a public mostly not started in the musical practice; 4) public policy character, with government involvement and accountability and 5) focus on social transformation, the main objective is social development through the practice of music excellence. These fundamentals guide the program's performance, but the strategy and operation within the context of Bahia and Brazil are innovative and respond to local challenges and problems.

The Founder and General Director of NEOJIBA is the maestro and pianist Ricardo Castro, who after a consolidated and international career as soloist and teacher, returned to Bahia to implement NEOJIBA at the invitation of the Government of the State of Bahia. Due to his work in NEOJIBA, Ricardo Castro was named in 2013 as an Honorary Member of the Royal Philharmonic Academy of the United Kingdom, and he was the first Latin American to receive this honour, given to some of the most important names in music in the world. The NEOJIBA Program has shown significant growth over the last decade, based on the positive results achieved and the very articulation of the Program team. From a budget of about ) US$91 thousand and a team of 3 people in 2007, NEOJIBA has passed an annual budget of US$3.9 millions of which 70% are from of the State Government and 30% captured by civil society and companies. NEOJIBA today has a staff of 90 people, about 30% of whom are former beneficiaries of the Program.

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NEOJIBA has already inspired the creation of similar programs in different Brazilian states, such as the Music and Arts Inclusion Program (Prima) of the State Government of Paraíba in 2012 and Alegro Project in Curitiba State in 2015. In addition, it was used as a reference for improvements in the operation of Projeto Guri, the largest socio-musical project in the State of São Paulo.(dois in addition no mesmo parágrafo)Also ou Moreoverc, NEOJIBA supports and serves as a reference for 45 musical projects in 38 municipalities of the State of Bahia, through the Network of Orchestral Projects of Bahia, created by NEOJIBA in 2013. Through this Network, NEOJIBA stimulates and supports the growth of musical projects throughout the state and offers training in the areas of music and management for all projects.

NEOJIBA's management model and growth strategy are focused on the sustainability of the program. Although government resources account for most of the program's budget, civil society participation provides access to alternative streams of resources and allows program expansion. It also allows actions that generate recognition in Brazil and abroad, such as the international tours conducted by the Youth Orchestra of Bahia. In terms of strategic growth, unlike the Venezuelan system, which is fully financed with public resources and directly responsible for hundreds of nuclei throughout the country, NEOJIBA focuses its growth through partnerships with local projects and tends to act in the future as a large hub of social and musical projects in Bahia, offering training to other agents allied with their mission and vision of the future. Between 2018 and 2022 will be opened 9 Nuclei of Territorial Formation in strategic municipalities of the state. This is a sustainable growth strategy that is appropriate to the context and challenges of the state of Bahia, which has logistical difficulties and a shortage of skilled labour in the musical area.

The example of El Sistema Venezuelan, which completes its 43 years of activities in 2018, shows how a public policy like NEOJIBA can be sustainable and long-lasting. The Program completed its first decade in 2017 and its management model supports its continuity, both for the engagement of civil society and for the validity of the 5-year Management Contract (instrument that regulate the partnership between Government and Civil Society), thus exceeding governmental mandates and avoiding discontinuity for political reasons.

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Every year we carry out a survey of satisfaction with the members of NEOJIBA's Center for Management and Professional Training, participants of the two youth orchestras and the youth choir of the Program. The research aims to ascertain the degree of satisfaction of the direct users of the service and to listen to their opinions and suggestions for the program. In 2017, we began conducting research with families, during regular meetings in each musical practice center. The purpose of the research is to know their opinion about the operation of the program and its impact on the beneficiaries, from the perspective of the families.

The last satisfaction survey conducted in December 2017 was attended by 213 members of the program. In total, 95.8% of the members said they "feel completely involved with the program". 91.1% stated that they were satisfied with the opportunities for personal and artistic growth provided by the program and 98.9% stated they were satisfied with the social accompaniment offered by the program. The research with the families was carried out throughout 2017 and had the participation of 368 families. As a result, we observed that 94.7% of the families recognized a positive change in the behavior of the member. When asked about the most obvious type of change in a multiple-choice question, 54% of the families reported a positive change in the social life of the child and adolescent, 49.7% reported improvements in behavior at home and 37.4% reported improvements in school performance. 57% of respondents reported having another relative, neighbor or friend who is also part of the program, which shows the deep community impact of NEOJIBA in the locations where it is installed.

The surveys are conducted internally, with standardized questionnaires and reviewed by the NEOJIBA social team. In order to improve the management of the Program, we are building a set of around 40 performance indicators, covering the main areas of the program and which will be monitored annually. The indicators will be tools to support the management of the program and will accompany, periodically, the musical development of the members; the rate of entry into the labor market after participation in the program; among other impacts.

NEOJIBA is a case of success in aligning the Government, civil society and private companies in favor of a public policy. The State Government is responsible for planning, evaluating and is the main financier of NEOJIBA. It has an evaluation and monitoring committee that monitors the actions and results of the program. Civil society, through the Institute of Social Action for Music, is a partner of the Government and responsible for the management and operation of the Program. The Institute has a Board of Directors and also an Advisory Board, formed by people of reference in the various areas of activity of NEOJIBA. Civil society also participates in the planning of NEOJIBA, suggesting to the Government new ways of acting and contributing to the organizational strengthening of the program. In addition, it contributes to the expansion of the program through partnerships with other entities. Companies and other private entities also participate, either through financing, private sponsorships, donations and other sources of income, or through partnerships for benefits to members, such as the Bahian School of Medicine and Public Health, which offers various services for the health of members of NEOJIBA free of charge.

Over 10 years, the main lesson of NEOJIBA is the confirmation of the potential for growth and transformation of childhood and youth and the importance of providing real development opportunities for this part of the population. NEOJIBA also reveals the important role of art as an ally of social policies and that it is possible to use art as an instrument of social change without compromising its quality and the pursuit of excellence. Another lesson is the importance of involving civil society in planning and also in the management of public policies, as an ally in overcoming the limitations of direct public management. Among the points to be improved, we need to build a formal evaluation of the social impact of the program, which require an investment by the entities involved.