What messages can help Brazil believe that there is still time to act for climate, democracy, and justice? In 2025, the second full year of ICCI’s activities, this question ran through much of our work and marked a moment of institutional growth. Over the year, our team expanded to 12 people, bringing together professionals who inspire one another and share a deep commitment to ICCI’s cause areas, developing communication strategies that mobilize society and open pathways for change at scale.

Along the way, it became clear to us that real change starts with changing conversations. We spent time in conversation and collaboration within our own circles before engaging the broader ecosystem, amplifying voices, and reaching new audiences. Starting from a shared diagnosis of the importance of strategic communications and its chronic underfunding, we moved into a sustained commitment to facilitate collaboration among initiatives, support the development of research, and back grantees with strong and well-recognized work in their fields.

In 2025, we funded 63 grantees, each bringing deep expertise in their respective areas and translating the climate, democracy, and justice agendas into messages that mobilize public opinion. We cherished these organizations as they found effective ways to foster our agendas, crafting narratives that stir emotion and shape public debate, contributing to deeper public understanding and helping drive concrete transformative action across our cause areas. Our grantees are what make ICCI’s work real. Thank you to each of you for the fruitful partnership.

The positive impact of our grantees, and the collective construction that defines ICCI’s trajectory, would not have been possible without the 13 funders who supported us throughout 2025 and reaffirmed how an ecosystem-based perspective can expand the impact of our efforts. We are grateful to each of them for their trust in our work and for believing that a Brazilian regranter specialized in strategic communications can help to advance climate action, democracy, and justice by finding common grounds in a deeply unequal society.

We also appreciate our funders’ embrace of the idea that fostering mobilization does not necessarily depend on explaining an agenda’s importance, but on connecting people to a cause through elements such as emotion and its capacity to inspire action. After all, the way a story is told can turn social diversity into an ally and move people toward a shared goal.

Our Trustees also played a key role in 2025. In addition to the Board of Directors, responsible for ICCI’s strategic direction and composed of Alessandra Orofino, Carlos Vicente, and Tom Brookes, we established a Fiscal Council this year. Formed by Daniela Gama, Gilberto Costa, and Pedro Affonso, the board provides oversight of ICCI’s financial and accounting management and reinforces our transparency and governance practices.

Surrounded by so many inspiring people and organizations, ICCI hosted two major convenings in 2025 that brought together leaders, communicators, creatives, and experts connected to different themes. We also created a series of trusted spaces for safe and open conversations that allowed deeper dialogue on issues central to our ecosystem. These experiences led to two publications: 20 Days With Climate: Daily Reflections on Climate, Communication and Culture and Culture and Democracy in Brazil: Communication Strategies for Here and Now (A Not-So-Practical Manual). Both are available on our website and represent an important part of our knowledge production and dissemination efforts.

Looking to 2026, we carry forward the lessons and stories of 2025, convinced that a strong communications ecosystem is essential to enabling more voices to take part in a public sphere that values democracy, advances social justice, and drives meaningful action on climate change in Brazil.

Looking Ahead to 2026: Changing Conversations to Change Realities

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