The Best of Brazil European Awards 2020 — By Wanja Muthee
“The Best of Brazil Awards 2020” took place on the 19th of November 2020 from 19:00 UTC, and the show was a resounding success. The show began with a rendition of the Brazilian national anthem, evoking a sense of national unity and patriotism for all the Brazilians who were tuned in, but also emphasizing the indelible mark created by migrant Brazilian entrepreneurs across Europe.
This fantastic event aimed at celebrating and promoting Brazilian entrepreneurs in Europe had initially been planned as a three-day extravaganza, which would have comprised three days of events, including an exhibition of businesses owned by Brazilians who are living and trading in Europe, workshops on topics such as PR, marketing, and branding, and culminating in a prestigious awards ceremony on the final day. The awards show would have been held at the iconic Houses of Parliament in London, however, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, only the awards part of the event was able to take place, and it had to take place in an unprecedented online format.
Luckily, the change of plans did not dim the party. The awards, which were broadcast via Facebook Live, were viewed in 14 countries by almost 4,000 people, with an impressive 2,300 comments and 135 shares of the live event broadcast.
Hosted by Rafael dos Santos, the exuberant CEO of GuidedPR, a public relations company based in London, the extravagant awards show had 90 finalists and 25 winners in 25 categories, all of whom were thrilled to be honored by their fellow members of the Brazilian community.
Luiza Brunet, one of the guest speakers, in her speech at the beginning of the event, thanked Rafael profusely for the invitation to attend and said that the event was incredible and grand, whilst also commenting that she loves events such as this one which highlight all the achievements of Brazilians across the world.
Would you like to share your story or expertise with our readers? Contact our editor-in-chief, Rafael dos Santos, by clicking here.
The show honored Brazilian professionals across a huge range of industries, including law, music, marketing, travel, blogging, cosmetics, hospitality, accountancy, hairdressing, entertainment, catering, entrepreneurship, literature (both children’s and adult), nutrition, fashion, medicine, real estate, and news. Each of the category winners was announced by one of the wonderful guest judges, and each winner then was given time to give an acceptance speech to all those who were watching. The winners were ecstatic to have received their awards, and it was great to watch such a positive event in such an uncertain time.
The renowned Brazilian Marcos Viana, who is President of the Council of Representative of Brazilians Abroad (CRBE), one of the event’s media partners, encouraged the creation of a remarkable public voting system with anti-fraud systems in place, in order to make sure that the will of the people prevailed. In each of the 25 categories, the public was invited to nominate an entrepreneur or business to be considered as finalists. After completing their nominations and votes, the voter would be sent a confirmation email in order to validate their vote.
The guest judges of the event were experts in their respective fields, and it was a great honor to have them take part in the event. They were Sileide Navegantes, a successful entrepreneur and hotel owner from Santa Catarina; Fernando Kimura, an international speaker and marketing professional; Douglas Heizer, a member of the Conselho de Cidadaos in Florida; Paula Tebett, an international public speaker and social media evangelist; Marcio Delgado, a journalist and social media influencer; Ana Freccia, a successful entrepreneur and journalist; Gilson Guimaraes, the coordinator of the charity Fraternity Without Borders in the UK; and Marcos Viana, President of CRBE, the Council of Representatives of Brazilians Abroad. Each of them helped the event to run smoothly, and their charisma added a lot of fun to the event.
Fernanda Pontes, winner of the best Brazilian lawyer in Europe award, started her acceptance speech by stating that her heart rate had gone through the roof due to the anticipation, to which Rafael joked that rightly so, given she was basically accepting an Oscar! She then went on to thank God, Rafael, and her family, before saying she wanted to share her award with all of the Brazilians living abroad who are fighting every day to make an impact.
The event’s media partners were PortalLondres, Fraternity Without Borders and the CRBE, all of whom had representatives as speakers or guest judges at the event.
All in all, the event was an incredible success, even given the circumstances of having to move online. Hopefully next year can be held in person, and it will be even bigger and better than this year — it will be a hard one to beat though!
Wanja is an avid reader and writer who lives in Nairobi. She’s a PR Assistant and Blogger at GuidedPR. She holds a Bachelors in Mass Communication from JKUAT and has worked in print media and in academia. When she’s not researching current affairs, you’ll find her on social media, keeping up with what’s hot!
Would you like to share your story or expertise with our readers? Contact our editor-in-chief, Rafael dos Santos, by clicking here.
High Profile Magazine Editor-in-chief Rafael dos Santos
