The First World UFO Forum, held in Brasilia, capital city of Brazil, from December 7 to 14, 1997, lived up to its billing as the largest gathering of international UFO researchers ever assembled in one place. Nineteen nations were represented. Thirty-six international speakers joined with 24 speakers from Brazil to present an intense, varied, non-stop survey of UFO cases and theories.
The Forum was held at, and co-sponsored by, the ParlaMundi of the Legion of Good Will, an ecumenical spiritual organization whose sumptuous and exotic headquarters are one of the most-visited sites in Brasilia. The ParlaMundi provided a large and well-appointed auditorium, additional meeting rooms, professional language translation services, lunch and dinner service, and travel to and from the hotels and airport. Many delegates took time out to tour the ParlaMundi's vast facilities, which included art galleries, an "Egyptian Room," and a large pyramidal temple for meditation.
Among the invited speakers, the rich exchange of ideas began with the first speech at 8 am each morning, continued through the cafeteria-style meals served in the conference center, then ran far into the night in the bars and lounges of the hotel where the delegates were housed. Most participants slept very little but seemed not to mind.
CNI News editor Michael Lindemann spoke at the Forum and interviewed many of the other invited speakers. Much of the December 20, 1997 issue of CNI News consists of stories from the UFO Forum. More news from the Forum will be included in the next issue of CNI News as well.
One outcome of the Forum was a document calling upon the Brazilian government to cooperate with civilian researchers in resolving the mystery of UFOs. Written mainly by A.J. Gevaerd, head organizer of the event and publisher of Brazil's leading UFO magazine, the document was signed by most of the conference delegates, then presented at the closing ceremony to a Senator of the Brazilian government and two representatives of the Brazilian Air Force.
Predictably, since the interpretation of UFO phenomena varied widely from speaker to speaker, several delegates refused to sign the document due to disagreement with some of its statements. Following the close of the conference, at least two invited speakers have protested the inclusion of their names on the document (the names of all participating speakers were typed in a list at the end). Several other speakers said they signed it despite misgivings over language. However, the majority view seemed to be that the document represented a useful step toward cooperative relations with Brazilian authorities.
The document, in English translation, reads as follows:
Brasilia (DF), Brazil, December 14, 1997
BRASILIA'S LETTER
Brazilian and foreign ufologists, from 19 nations of all continents, gathered at the First World UFO Forum from December 7 to 14, 1997, in the World Parliament of Ecumenical Fraternity, ParlaMundi of the LGW, in Brasilia, Brazil. The following facts were presented in the presence of the Brazilian air force minister:
1) That it is general knowledge that the UFO phenomenon, represented by the constant visits of space vehicles to planet Earth, is genuine and [has] been independently confirmed by civilian ufologists and military authorities throughout the world for the last 50 years.
2) That the origin of such phenomenon [is] already identified as extraterrestrial and ... comes from civilizations technologically far advanced [over] our own, co-exist[ing] with us in the Universe.
3) That such civilizations are in a continuous process of approaching Earth and our planetary civilization. Also, that these civilizations, through their maneuvers, most of the time display no hostility toward us.
4) That the visits of such extraterrestrial civilizations to Earth have been gradually increasing over recent years, according to statistics provided by national and international [sources], not only in quantity but also in intensity.
5) That it is urgent to establish an official programme of knowledge, research and public education [on] the topic; [and] through such methods, make it clear to the Brazilian population the ever-growing, undeniable and extraterrestrial presence on Earth.
Thus, considering the adopted attitudes taken by countries who have already recognized the extent of the problem, such as Chile for example, who a few weeks ago established a UFO investigating committee, we respectfully recommend that the Brazilian Air Force, or some of their departments, adopt a similar approach to formulate an appropriate way to discuss the subject at all levels possible.
The Brazilian UFO Community, through this act represented by the national researchers whose names appear below, and with the full support of the World UFO Community, represented in this act by the undersigned, wishes to volunteer its knowledge, effort and dedication should our proposal become a reality.
As an initial point in this process, something that would represent a positive action taken by our authorities, the Brazilian UFO Community respectfully requests that your Ministry opens the files about at least two specific and remarkable episodes of our UFO research.
a) The Operation Prato, conducted by the First Air Regional Command (COMAR) of Belem, Para State, between September and December 1977, that resulted in a large volume document, complemented with more than 500 photos and many films [of] movements of UFOs above the Amazon region, as was confirmed by Colonel Uyrange Bolivar Soares de Hollanda Lima; and
b) Ufological phenomena which occurred in May of 1986, over the states of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, among others, when more than 20 unknown flying objects were observed, monitored, recorded on radar and were chased by Air Force jets, according to the Aeronautics Minister at that time, Brigadier Octavio Moreira Lima.
Given that civilian and military authorities have been aware of the UFO situation and have monitored it at different levels over past decades, always in the interest of national security, we believe that this initiative and agreement would solidify the beginning of a meaningful and prosperous partnership.
Cordially,
Brazilian UFO Commission
Ademar Jose Gevaerd
Claudeir Covo
Marco Antonio Petit
Rafael Cury
Reginaldo de Athayde
Ubirajara Franco Rodrigues
Brazilian UFO Researchers (24 names)
International UFO Researchers (37 names)
Original file name: CNI - Brazil Summary
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