Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre

Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, opened its doors to the public of Sao Paulo on 25th May 2011 to showcase India's rich heritage and to promote cultural exchanges between the people of India and Brazil. The establishment of the Centre is an important initiative of the Government of India, keeping in mind the high priority it attaches to its bilateral relations with Brazil. The centre since its inception has given India's cultural presence in Brazil a major fillip and continues to play a major role in developing friendly cultural connects and partnerships between the two countries.

Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre, is the Cultural Wing of the Consulate General of India Sao Paulo and has dedicated staff to look after its day to day activities. It is the representative body of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi (ICCR), the apex body for conducting India's cultural relations with other countries. The ICCR has its Cultural Centres world wide engaged in promoting and propagating Indian culture and building relations between India and rest of the world through showcasing our oldest and diversified culture in terms of performing arts and academic inputs of our cultural heritage.

Located in the area of Consolacao, the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre is at the heart of the cultural life of Sao Paulo, offering a wide and interesting range of cultural services and performances to its patrons. It is spread over three floors housing a multipurpose hall, auditorium with stage,a library and kitchen for Gastronomy classes. All events at the Centre are free of charge and open to the general public.

The Centre facilities are open to all persons interested in learning about India and preserving, promoting and enriching Indian culture, values and heritage. All the activities promoted are of socio-cultural character such as lectures and workshops on India related subjects such as Yoga, Meditation, Gandhian philosophy, Ayurveda, Indian traditions, spirituality, culture, history, architecture, India tourism promotion, peace culture, etc. All major National days and Indian festivals are celebrated at the centre such as Gandhi Jayanti, Guru Nanak Jayanti, Holi, Diwali, Dussehra, etc.

The Centre places special emphasis on working with local cultural organizations promoting Indian culture. While hosting leading artistes and cultural troupes from India, the Indian Cultural Centre also offers its premises for suitable use by the Brazilian artistes, academics, writers and performers for furthering India-Brazil cultural relations. Those desirous may apply by obtaining the Form from the centre. Completed Form should be submitted at the centre well in advance of the date for which the facilities are solicited.

The Centre has a well stocked Library and Resource Centre housing an interesting collection of books on Indian history, spirituality, Yoga, polity, economy, art and culture. It has a particularly exciting collection of books on contemporary Indian literature and a wide range of Video and CD collection of documentaries and Bollywood movies. There is a large reference section with encyclopedias, dictionaries and coffee table books. While the bulk of the books are in English, there are a substantial number of Hindi and Portuguese books too. Members are allowed to borrow two books for a period of two weeks.

Qualified local teachers offer classes in classical dance forms of India. The Centre has an India based Yoga and Indian Culture teacher and Yoga classes that concentrate on physical health and mental well-being are held daily. Hindi classes are held on a weekly basis by the India based teacher.

REGISTRATION FOR REGULAR YOGA CLASSES
Application/Registration Forms for classes will be available at the beginning of the academic session in Feb every year. An individual can register with Cultural Centre by submitting the following documents:
a. Completed Registration/Application form
b. One 3X4cm photograph
c. Photocopy of RG / Driver License / Passport (for foreigners)
The member would become eligible to enroll himself/herself for the regular classes undertaken at the Centre.

Timings:Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre is open from Monday to Friday, from 0900 hrs. to 1730 hrs.
Address:Rua Bela Cintra 178, Consolação, São Paulo, CEP 01415-000- SP
Telephone:+55 11 31428915, 31429625
Email: icc3.saopaulo@mea.gov.in
Administration: icc2.saopaulo@mea.gov.in
Director: Mr. Adarsh Kumar Mishra. Email: icc.saopaulo@mea.gov.in
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndianCulturalCentreSaoPauloBrazil/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/svcc_saopaulo/

Scholarships for Indian Studies
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) offering two slots of scholarships (UG/ PG and PhD courses) for Brazilian students who speak English and want to enroll in an Indian university. All information about the program (guidelines, list of universities, cities, etc.) can be obtained through the portal

http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in/

Please note: 
1- The entire application process will be directly done online through the above mentioned portal 
2- The Consulate General of India in Sao Paulo will not accept hard copies or email applications.
3. Applicants will have to take and qualify an English language test at the Consulate before their applications are processed online
4- The applicant must ensure that the chosen university offers hostel facilities.
5. All documentation must be submitted by the portal.
6- It is the responsibility of the applicant to carefully follow all the requirements indicated in the POLICY GUIDELINES and INSTRUCTIONS FOR ICCR ADMINISTERED SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM available for download on the portal mentioned above.

ICCR Scholarship scheme for dance and music The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) administers an ICCR Scholarship Scheme for Dance and Music to promote Indian classical forms of Dance and Music amongst foreign nationals by providing them a chance to learn these ancient art forms in India under the Guru-Shishya Parampara. It is open for students across the world without any requirement of age or specific qualifications. The Guru to whom the student applies, makes the selection. The scheme serves students from all backgrounds ranging from fresher to practicing artists in the respective arts forms. Since this scheme is under Guru-Shishya Parampara students can apply with greater flexibility of time.

Application can be made online through ICCR’s Admission-to-Alumni portal (http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in/).
A list of empanelled institutes offering dance/music courses under Guru-Shishya Parampara is also available at the same portal and given below.
http://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in/home/guruList