AfroReggae receives the 2025 Heloneida Studart Diploma from Alerj, in recognition of its cultural work and social transformation through art.
Highest cultural honor from Alerj
The AfroReggae Cultural Group was among the initiatives awarded the Heloneida Studart Diploma 2025, the highest cultural honor granted by the Rio de Janeiro State Legislative Assembly. The award is presented by the Assembly’s Culture Committee. It highlights the organization’s trajectory in promoting culture, art and education as tools for social change.
The formal ceremony took place on Wednesday, December 3, in the plenary of the Palácio Tiradentes. The session was chaired by state deputy Verônica Lima, head of the Culture Committee. Danilo Costa, AfroReggae’s Executive Director, received the diploma on behalf of the institution.
Institutional and diverse celebration
The event gathered deputy Carlos Minc and representatives from the Ministry of Culture. Officials from the Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat for Culture and Creative Economy and the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Secretariat of Culture also attended. Thus, the session reinforced the plural and institutional nature of the tribute.
Created in 2009 and named after writer, journalist, feminist and former state deputy Heloneida Studart, the diploma honors cultural initiatives that strengthen the state’s artistic and social landscape. It celebrates organizations, collectives and individuals that contribute to the vitality and diversity of Rio’s culture. In this context, AfroReggae stands out as a long-standing reference.
Over three decades of work in the outskirts
With more than 30 years of intense cultural work in peripheral territories, AfroReggae reaffirms its historic mission with this award. The group promotes citizenship, inclusion and opportunities through art. Today, its initiatives have national and international reach.
Over the decades, AfroReggae projects have impacted thousands of young people in vulnerable communities. As a result, the organization has built a methodology that connects culture, training and social leadership. The diploma recognizes this continuous path of resistance and innovation.
“I am deeply grateful for this recognition, but above all I congratulate the initiative to value all cultural makers and agitators in our state. This movement is essential for us to keep moving forward, because art and culture are powerful tools for social transformation. When the public authorities recognize this, they open paths for more lives to be reached and more opportunities to be created,” says Danilo Costa, Executive Director of AfroReggae.
Reference in Brazil’s living culture
The award further consolidates AfroReggae as one of the leading agents of living culture in Brazil. It celebrates the group’s contribution to cultural and social development. At the same time, it underscores its role in building a more democratic, plural and transformative society.
In this sense, the 2025 Heloneida Studart Diploma symbolizes recognition of an institutional journey and of the many lives touched by AfroReggae’s work. Ultimately, it reinforces the importance of public policies that support community-based cultural initiatives.
