# august to december 2024 updates Hi everyone, The second half of 2024 has been a rather quiet time professionally, and it felt quite good to have things settle down a bit. In September, I completed my introductory German course in Bonn. In October, I moved to Speyer to officially start my research project at FÖV. I decided to spend the first two months in Speyer to get to know the FÖV headquarters and the team working there (which, in retrospect, was an incredible idea - I’ve met amazing people whom I hope to stay in touch with for a long time!). At the start of my project, the Institute [published an interview](https://www.foev-speyer.de/news-details/interview-gastforscher-rafael-leite) about my research and upcoming work, which turned out quite well considering the space constraints. In early November, I participated in the opening conference of the German Chancellor Fellowship in Bonn. It was a week filled with formative activities, a chance to learn more about the projects and experiences of other fellows (both current and alumni), and opportunities to explore the Bonn and Cologne region. The program included a conversation with Nanette Snoep, the director of the [Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum](https://rautenstrauch-joest-museum.de/visit) in Cologne, discussions with representatives of Deutsche Welle, and exchanges with German academics, among other interesting activities. As well as traveling around Germany (and to other countries during my holidays!), November allowed me to immerse in exploratory research, learning almost from scratch how public administration works in Germany. I did this by reading extensively, but more importantly by talking to many incredibly generous people. These ranged from casual conversations over coffee (and beer!) to more formal interviews. The discussions with current and former civil servants were the most stimulating - it’s always enlightening to talk to people who are actually solving real problems in government. Interestingly enough, this exchange was a great help in my realisation of how dysfunctional public administration can be in Brazil (by comparison). November also brought the renewal of my position on the [YouthLED Integrity Advisory Board](https://grace.unodc.org/grace/en/youth-empowerment/youthled-board-members.html) for an additional two-year term. As part of this role, I was invited to speak on the panel “[Development of strategies and good practices to empower youth in the fight against corruption](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA0lDkDqHMo)” during the 6th edition of the Anticorruption Datathon, organized by the _Secretaría Ejecutiva del Sistema Nacional Anticorrupción_ (SESNA) of the Mexican federal government. Around the same time, Professor [Cibele Franzese](https://eaesp.fgv.br/en/people/cibele-franzese) from FGV EAESP presented, at this year’s Annual Congress of the Latin American Center for Development Administration (CLAD) in Brasília, a paper we co-authored with Mike Cerqueira titled “[The Public Executive as an analytical category: One job, different approaches](https://clad.org/wp-content/themes/clad/pendrives/pendrive-congreso-XXIX/pdfs/franzcib.pdf).” This was part of a panel we proposed to discuss “Challenges and advances in the professionalization of Senior Civil Services in Latin America”. Finally, in early December, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) released the [executive summary](https://publications.iadb.org/es/mejores-gobiernos-para-mejores-vidas-fortaleciendo-las-capacidades-del-estado-para-una-gestion) of one of its flagship reports: the latest version of a publication it has been issuing for three decades - a decennial assessment of public service reforms and developments in Latin America and the Caribbean. I had the opportunity to contribute to this publication as a research assistant on two chapters written by Professor [Barbara Nunberg](https://ghd.georgetown.edu/profile/barbara-nunberg/). As soon as the full document is published, I will share it here, but the executive summary offers a glimpse of what is to come. This December, I also moved to Berlin, where I’ll be spending much of the coming year. I’m looking forward to discovering the city and making the most of my time here. Wishing you all a Happy New Year! [![[241229 Escritório FOV Speyer.jpg]]](https://www.foev-speyer.de/news-details/interview-gastforscher-rafael-leite) ![[241229 Conferência abertura AvH.jpg]] [![[241229 Encontro Governo México YouthLED.png]]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA0lDkDqHMo)