SOBER is a non-profit civil association founded in 1959, whose purpose is to promote the development and exchange of knowledge in the field of rural social sciences and related fields, with the aim of providing support for the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies aimed at sustainable development, and for decision-making by private sector agents.
IRSA is an association of regional associations that originated from the efforts of a Committee for International Cooperation in Rural Sociology. In 1964, this committee organized the first congress, and discussions began at the second world congress in 1968 to form an international organization. A year later, the Latin American Association of Rural Sociology (ALASRU) was formed, which is the regional body affiliated with IRSA and proponent of organizing the congress in Latin America.
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All roads lead to Porto Alegre
In 2026, Porto Alegre will once again be at the center of discussions about the future of rural areas. This city has become internationally known for its innovative experiences in participatory governance and democracy, among which the creation, in the 1980s, of the Participatory Budget and the organization, in the early 2000s, of the first editions of the World Social Forum stand out.
Located in the extreme south of the Brazil, the city also concentrates some of the most consolidated experiences of food social movements in Brazil. In the 1980s, Porto Alegre witnessed the creation of the first organic food market in the country, which operated with a participatory certification system created by a consumer cooperative. This experience is at the origin of the Ecovida Agroecology Network, which is responsible for one of the most well-known participatory certification systems in the world. The metropolitan region of Porto Alegre is also home to some of the most consolidated experiences of rural settlements, where agrarian reform cooperatives are responsible for the largest area of production and processing of organic rice in Latin America.
In 2024, the city witnessed the largest climate catastrophe in its history, a flood that left 183 dead and thousands homeless. Bridges and highways were blocked or destroyed, entire neighborhoods remained underwater for weeks, the airport was closed for five months. But, once again, the solidarity of the polulation and the protagonism of organized civil society guaranteed the conditions to resist and rebuild the city. Among the main innovations is a network of more than 300 "solidarity kitchens" that are revolutionizing the conditions of access to healthy food for the most vulnerable social groups, and which has served as inspiration for the construction of new food policies.
In short, Porto Alegre has historically been a locus of innovative action, where the protagonism of rural and urban social movements, in partnership with other state and non-state actors, has put the construction of more sustainable, healthy and fair food systems in the foreground. This is a more than propitious context for the organization of an event whose main axis of discussion will be "Politics for Nature, Food and Nutrition in times of uncertainty and climate change".
Porto Alegre / RS / Brazil
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
Our host: the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
Founded in 1934, the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul is one of the most important in Latin America. Maintained by public resources and completely free at all levels of education, the University has about 40 thousand undergraduate and graduate students. For about a decade, UFRGS has stood out as the best federal university in Brazil in the main national and international rankings. Among its main areas of teaching and research, agriculture and food have a prominent place.
Calendar
April 30 to July 30, 2025
Submission of Working Group proposals for the World Congress of Rural Sociology - IRSA (the WGs of the Congress of the Brazilian Society of Rural Economics, Management and Sociology - SOBER are defined by the entity's Scientific Committee)
August 15, 2025
Publication of the list of Working Groups - two lists will be published: one referring to World Congress of Rural Sociology - IRSA and another to Congress of the Brazilian Society of Rural Economics, Management and Sociology - SOBER. Participants will be able to submit different papers for both events
October 1, 2025
Start of Registration
October 1 to December 18, 2025
Submission of ABSTRACTS to the working groups from the World Congress of Rural Sociology - IRSA
January 15 to March 15, 2026
Submission of proposals for self-organized sections for both congresses
January 19 to March 31, 2026
Submission of FULL PAPERS and EXPANDED ABSTRACTS for the working groups of the Congress of the Brazilian Society of Rural Economics, Management and Sociology - SOBER
Brazil has a visa policy based on the principle of reciprocity. This means that citizens of countries that require a visa from Brazilian citizens to enter their territories will also need a visa to travel to Brazil.
Here is the status of different countries in January 2025:
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru - Visa exemption for a period not exceeding 90 days. Entry allowed upon presentation of Civil Identity Card.
Austria, Belgium, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom. Visa exemption for a period not exceeding 90 days. Entry is permitted upon presentation of a Passport.
Australia, Canada, United States – Electronic Visa Required (https://brazil.vfsevisa.com/)
Cape Verde, China, Cuba, India, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal - Visa Required
* Please note that the Brazilian visa will never be granted in Brazilian territory. Therefore, it is not possible to obtain your visa at airports, ports of entry or any other point on the Brazilian border.
Organizing Committee
Coordination
Paulo Niederle (Local Organizing Committee Coordinator), Marcus Peixoto (President-elect of the Brazilian Society of Rural Economics, Administration and Sociology - SOBER for 2025-2026 term), Sally Shortall (President of the International Association of Rural Sociology - IRSA), Valdemar Wesz Junior (Vice-President of the Latin American Association of Rural Sociology - ALASRU)
Commission
Juliano Luiz Fossá (Universidade Federal do Pampa), Sergio Schneider (Vice-President of IRSA), Janaina Brandão(Universidade Federal de Rio Grande, Alex Leonardi (Universidade Federal de Rio Grande), Alexander Cenci (Rio de Janeiro Department of Agriculture Grande do Sul), Camila Penna (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), Catia Grisa (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Cidonea Machado Deponti (Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul), Claudio Becker (Universidade Federal de Pelotas), Eliziane Ruiz (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Evandro Pedro Schneider (Federal University of the Southern Border), Everton Picolotto (Federal University of Santa Maria), Gustavo Pinto da Silva (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria), Kelly Bruch(Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), Marcelo Conterato (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Marcio Gazolla (Universidade Federal Tecnológica do Paraná), Marcos Piccin(Universidade Federal de Santa Maria), Marilia David (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Marlise Amália Reinehr Dal Forno(Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), Marines Bocchi (State Institute of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension), Maycon Schubert (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), Milena Silvester Quadros (Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul), Potira Preiss (Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul), Valquíria Duarte (SOBER), Vanderlei Franck Thies (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria), Vinicius Dalbianco (Federal University of Pampa)
Scientific Committee
International Scientific Committee (World Congress of Rural Sociology)
Keiko Tanaka (Rural Sociology Society), José Duarte Medeiros Ribeiro (European Society for Rural Sociology), Carla Gras (Associação Latino-Americana de Sociologia Rural), Emma Sharp (Australasian Agrifoods Research Network), Motoki Akitsu (Asian Rural Sociology Association)
Brazilian Scientific Committee
Alcido Wander (Embrapa); Alfio Brandenburg (UFPR); Arílson Favaretto (UFABC); Bernardo Mançano Fernandes (UNESP); Cimone Rozendo (UFRN); Dalva Maria da Mota (Embrapa); Daniela Pacífico (UFSC); Edna Castro (SBS); Joacir Ruffino de Aquino (UERN); John Wilkinson (UFRRJ); Leonilde Medeiros (UFRRJ); Marcelo Sampaio Carneiro (UFMA); Marcus Peixoto (SOBER); Maria Aparecida de Moraes Silva (UFSCAR); Miguel Ângelo Perondi (UTFPR); Mireya Valencia (Rede de Estudos Rurais) Paulo Eduardo Moruzzi (USP); Ramonildes Gomes (UFCG); Rodrigo Contante Martins (UFSCAR); Valdemar João Wesz Junior (UNILA); Walquiria Duarte (SOBER).
Prêmios SOBER 2026
Em breve mais informações.
Comissão de Prêmios SOBER 2026
Profa. Dra. Camilia Lago Braga (UFS) - Coordenadora Geral dos Prêmios;
Profa. Dra. Alessandra Troian (Unipampa) – Vice-coordenadora geral dos Prêmios;
Prof. Dr. Armando Fornazier (UNB) - Vice-coordenador geral dos Prêmios;
Lançamento de Livros
Em breve mais informações
Comissão de Lançamento de Livros
Adriana Gregolin (FAO);
Prof. Alice Cruz (UFRN);
Promotion and Organization
Sponsors
Soon
Flavio Scholles lent his art to our Congress.
He was born and lived most of his life in the Vale do Sinos, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. In his studio nestled on top of a mountain, he painted daily work and life in agriculture. In his biography, he says that "the beginning of the industrialization of the country and, especially, of the Vale do Rio dos Sinos — the cultivation with machines on large tracts of land in Rio Grande do Sul, in the north of Paraná and, later, in Mato Grosso — made small rural properties no longer profitable. The exodus of settlers to the city began, where they would soon feel marginalized. Those who remained felt ashamed of their reality, especially because of the post-war effects. They even began to deny their realities, their customs, their homes, etc. They were completely losing their identity, which had very striking cultural characteristics, raw material for making art. I felt, then, that it was time to embrace my reality, my identity, to do a job of saving part of the country's culture. it was, by extension, the story of most of the residents of my village: the Vale do Rio dos Sinos.".
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul - Porto Alegre - Rio Grande do Sul - Brasil
