Brazil has a National System for Scientific and Technological Development, which includes universities, research and development centers, development agencies and companies. Their field of activity is fundamental and applied research. Grants are the main instrument for stimulating research and development. They are allocated to implementing institutions by specialized government agencies on a competitive basis. Created at the beginning 1950s The National Council for Scientific and Technological Development provides grants (and other forms of financial support) for scientific research. The Research and Projects Funding Office (established in 1969) specializes in providing grants for the implementation of technology projects in the private sector. The main research centers in the country are universities. They employ a large proportion of Brazilian researchers with advanced degrees. OK. 2/3 of the total volume of scientific production in the country falls on the University of Sao Paulo. In many states of the country, established in the 1970s, they operate. public research institutes that focus their activities on the study of local and/or regional technological problems. Among them are the Institute of Technological Research in Sao Paulo, the National Institute of Technology in Rio de Janeiro. There are also development institutions operating within the framework of certain scientific areas throughout the country. These include the National Institute for Space Research and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company. At the National Center for Agrobiology (Rio de Janeiro), the famous microbiologist J. Dovereiner, who was nominated in 1996 for the Nobel Prize. Largely due to her research, Brazil has become the 2nd largest producer of soybeans in the world. In 2000 per 1 million people. in Brazil there were 323 researchers and 129 people. technical staff. R&D spending amounted to 0.77% of GDP. Brazil is among the 20 countries in the world that publishes the largest number of scientific articles in international journals.

According to Andyeducation, the modern Brazilian education system is defined by the Law “On the Main Directions and Fundamentals of the Development of National Education” (1996), according to which the state provides the population with access to compulsory basic (fundamental) 8-year education for children aged 7-14. The law confirmed the authority of municipalities to manage pre-school and basic education, delegated to the states the responsibility for compulsory 8-year education and partly for secondary specialized education. The management of specialized (industrial-technical and agricultural) schools remains under the jurisdiction of the federal government; literacy programs are subject to centralized management.

In 2000, total spending on education was 5.15% of GDP. Basic education covered 35 million students, secondary education (according to the 3 + 3 (4) scheme) – almost 7 million people. (net coverage of this level of education was 71%). The gross enrollment of young people in higher education is at the level of 18%.

There are 3.125 million students studying in Brazilian universities. The largest universities: the University of Rio de Janeiro (founded in 1920, 40 thousand students), the University of Sao Paulo (founded in 1934, 63 thousand students), the University of Brasilia (founded in 1961, 10 thousand students).

The first evidence of the cultural life of Brazil dates back to the era of its discovery. Nevertheless, prehistoric fragments of rock paintings dating back to the 12th century have been preserved. BC, and fragments of plume art and ceramics of the ancient Indians. From the 16th century to early 21st century Brazilian culture is formed as a result of the interaction of three ethno-cultural layers – European (Portuguese), African and Indian. In the 16th century Jesuit missionaries use art to Christianize the local population. An important role in this process was played by José de Anchieta and Manuel Nóbrega. In the 17th century Brazilian baroque appears, most vividly represented in the poetry of Gregorio de Matus and in the prose of the preacher António Vieira. In the 18th century colonial baroque reaches its peak in the work of the sculptor and architect António Francisco Lisboa (Aleijadinho). The original folk musical genres, the lundu and the modinha, emerge. Under the influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment, baroque was replaced by neoclassicism. In poetry, it reaches its maximum embodiment in the works of Claudia Manuel da Costa and Thomas António Gonzaga. In the 19th century in line with this tradition, monumental-majestic architecture and historical painting (Pedro America) arise. Eclecticism is emerging in the visual arts. Subsequently, neoclassicism is replaced by romanticism, based on the ideas of national identity. It is spreading primarily in literature – in the Indian prose of José de Alencar and in the poetry of Castru Alvis. Composer António Carlos Gomis creates the first national operas. The central figure of Brazilian literature of the 19th century. becomes the founder of realism Machado de Assis. The genre of national comedy, associated with the names of Martins Pena and França Júnior, was born in the theater. A significant event in Brazilian culture of the 20th century. becomes the Week of Contemporary Art in São Paulo, which laid the foundation for modernism and determined the path for the further development of all subsequent Brazilian culture. The innovative ideas formulated by the organizers of the Week – Graça Araña, Mario di Andrade and Oswald de Andrade and their like-minded people, were later embodied in the work of the writer Manuel Bandeira, poet Jorge di Lima, artists Anita Malfatti, Tarsila do Amaral, Candido Portinari, architects Gregory Varshavchik, Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, composers Camargu Guarnieri and Francisco Mignoni. In literature, a special place is occupied by the writers Jorge Amado, Graciliano Ramus, Jose Lins do Rego, Raquel de Queiroz, Eric Verissima, Guimaraes Rose. In the genre of classical music, the most striking figure is Heitor Villa la Lobos, who was subsequently followed by a galaxy of his students: Francisco Mignoni, Camargue Guarnieri and others. Composers Jose Siqueira, Claudio Santoru, Edina Krieger made a significant contribution. In the field of popular music in the middle. 20th century bossanova is born – a kind of fusion of samba and American jazz. The composer António Carlos Jobim, the poet Vinicius de Morais and the singer João Gilberto are at the origins of this genre. The Brazilian carnival, which arose in the 16th century, reaches its climax. It annually becomes the main event in the cultural life of the country. The symbol of the carnival – samba – is a musical, dance and song genre. During the years of the military dictatorship, a movement of protest songs emerged, led by Chico Buarqui, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso. The greatest contribution to the development of theatrical art of the 20th century. the playwrights Guilherme Figueiredo, Alfredo Diaz Gomis, Oduvalda Vianna Filho, Augusta Boal, Pliniu Markus are contributing. National cinematography, which arose back in con. 19th century, experiencing a period of greatest upsurge with the emergence of the “new cinema” movement (Glauber Rocha, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Carlos Dieguez, and others).

In the 21st century national traditions are intertwined with the aesthetics of postmodernism. Polystylistic art is combined with new audiovisual technologies associated with the “computer revolution”. The most famous are popular music and cinematography, in particular, the work of film directors Bruno Barreto and Walter Salles, along with the work of Paulo Coelho, the author of parable novels.

In general, Brazilian culture of the 21st century. is a combination of the best national traditions with cosmopolitan popular culture. For Brazil, the problem of preserving cultural identity in the era of globalization is extremely relevant.