2013 Rio Raffle: How Your Ticket Helps
Last year we achieved incredible things because of your support.
Thanks to our 2012 Rio Raffle, Catalytic Communities has increasingly shaped the international debate on favelas by disseminating community perspectives and strengthening the field for active community participation.
Some Highlights:
Examples of Our Work:
RioOnWatch
RioOnWatch’s achievements reflect the growing interest in Rio de Janeiro’s development, the increasing diversity and quality of our reporting, and the growing use of the site by opinion leaders.
- 200+ articles published annually.
- 52 community journalists have pitched stories from all regions of the city, with 13 selected for payment and publication.
- A quadrupling of total monthly RioOnWatch site visits from 2,750 in January 2012 to 12,000 today.
- Accompanying this expansion is a dramatic growth in our social media reach, from 14,000 in January 2012 to an all-time high of 127,000 in June 2013.
International Favela Perceptions Survey and Media Monitoring
Our Favela Perceptions Survey is the the only multi-city and longitudinal international survey of its kind. Conducted now in 8 cities over 3 years, the study confirms the large divide between the reality of favelas as experienced by those who visit them and the perceptions depicted historically by the media.
- Conclusions drawn from a total 762 responses from global cities on 4 continents in our 2013 survey.
- Our findings concluded that visiting a favela significantly changes perceptions: 64% of international respondents who hadn’t been to a favela in Rio viewed them unfavorably, while only 28% of those who had visited viewed them as such.
- A full summary of these findings will be released shortly.
- Media monitoring and language-tracking of mainstream international coverage of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas and local commentary on media by local residents.
Media Engagement
Engagement with the international media to shape the dialogue surrounding favelas has been an increasingly important part of our work.
- Articles on Rio’s transformations now systematically include favela perspectives and commentary from residents, much of which has been advocated and facilitated by CatComm.
- Three Opinion pieces published in the New York Times.
- Interviews requested for numerous media outlets on all continents.
Next Up:
In addition to maintaining our efforts listed above, the expansion of our Community Journalism Initiative within RioOnWatch, and launching a favela qualities research & policy organizational portal, this year’s Raffle will support our new Community Organizing Workshops, to be launched in September.
With the Rio Raffle’s success, by the end of the year we will:
- Maintain and expand RioOnWatch, the best source of favela news and perspectives in English and now a go-to source for international researchers and media outlets from around the world, to expand to include 20 more community journalists and in-depth research pieces;
- Train 320 community leaders in 16 favelas spread across Rio in Community Planning, Evictions Resistance Techniques and Intro to Gentrification by the end of the year, including both training and follow-up;
- Implement customized Community Sanitation pilot biodigester projects and workshops with partners in four favelas developing a model for community-based sanitation to expand and take advantage of strategic visibility in the lead-up to the 2014 World Cup.
- Benefit tens of thousands of favela residents through on-going support of projects resulting from these workshops and community media programs.