Listen to Theresa Williamson at the Conference on World Affairs
Catalytic Communities’ Executive Director, Theresa Williamson, has just wrapped up an exciting week at the 67th Annual Conference on World Affairs in Boulder, Colorado (USA), where she participated in an array of informative presentations providing historical context, new updates from the ground, and insight relating to Rio de Janeiro’s favelas during the city’s current period of rapid transformation.
We are particularly excited about Theresa’s appearance on the United States’ oldest community radio station, KGNU Community Radio (88.5FM/1390AM), which provided a unique in-depth spotlight on Rio’s favelas and the work of Catalytic Communities. We’ve curated a highlight reel of the week and invite you to check out the topics that interest you most…
Radio: Hemispheres Catalyzing Marginalized Communities in Latin America
This segment opens (01:15) with Theresa’s overview of the current context in Rio and how favelas can offer models for sustainable solutions, followed by a discussion of topics including:- Reasons for optimism in the midst of tumultuous change and Rio’s “growing pains” (17:47)
- Lessons for city planning and policies from history (21:30)
- Adverse possession and land rights (23:18)
- Rio’s role in changing global perceptions of the Olympics (27:23)
- Pacification and its roots in Brazil’s police history (28:08)
- The role of community and international media (31:00)
- How favelas could leapfrog the “formal city” as sustainable models (33:49)
- Rio’s recent economic struggles, real estate boom and displacement (38:28)
- Land titling and the potential for collective land titling (43:28)
- The history and growth of Catalytic Communities, RioOnWatch.org, and RioONWire, the world’s first favela news wire (46:30)
- A vision for the future of Rio and its favelas (57:25)