Charter of Principles – 1978

As a result of a historical moment in which social reality demands decisive transformations and the adoption of clear principles, Instituto Sedes Sapientiae herein undertakes its duty of positioning itself in terms of its aims and working principles. Having clarity in thought and defined options in favour of popular emancipation is not a final guarantee of its effective accomplishment. However, it is an initial requisite for the beginning of the subsequent journey. With this in mind, far from adopting supposedly neutral scientific models, Instituto Sedes Sapientiae adopts a conscientious philosophical position with a commitment to:

I – Assume its share of responsibility in the qualitative transformation of social reality, stimulating all values that accelerate historical processes of justice, democracy and respect for human rights;

II – Be a centre for multidisciplinary reflection, a permanent place of education, work and intensification of critical thinking, cooperating with the development of sciences and arts, in opposition to the routine of mere repetition of theories and techniques;

III – Be an alternative option, free of the traditional academic structures in order to explore, in all directions, freedom of thought and expression;

IV – Train professionals whose scientific points of reference contribute to create a social reality that distances itself from pragmatic technicality and the privileges derived from financial elitism;

V – Promote a work ethic not as a mere legal formality, but to truly commit professionals to human rights;

VI – Develop research, courses and services that are linked to the Brazilian social reality and directed towards the needs of the economically underprivileged population, enabling their access to the means for taking charge of their own historical liberation project;

VII – Offer alternatives and open fields of work for those who are engaged in developing projects aimed at the truthful promotion of humankind;

VIII – Create an environment of cooperative work among all participants, enabling a fraternal communitarian model;

IX – Take care of institutional documentation, in order to organize a memory that may provide, over time, a possible historiography that serves to measure the efficiency of the initiative undertaken, allowing for its constant reformulation;

X – Practice systematic procedural self-critique, correcting errors and perfecting methods dictated by the demands of work committed to social reality;

XI – Keep as staff collaborators that assume the commitment to sustain, disseminate and develop the institute’s initiatives;

XII – As an organism of theoretical enquiry and a tool for intervention in society, Instituto Sedes Sapientiae commits to guide all of its activities by the foundational directives that consecrate humankind as a principle, Brazilian social reality as a field of work, the defence of human rights as a method, and freedom as the aim;

Therefore the irreversible positioning of Instituto Sedes Sapientiae, in accordance to the propositions of AIJF – Associação Instrutora da Juventude Feminina’s, is to consider this Charter of Principles as matter of constant critical reflection, continuously adjusting it to the demands dictated by social work committed to human integral reality.