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Latest News
  • [ April 2, 2026 ] ‘International Favelas Conference’ Promotes a (dis)Integrated City: From Erasing Favela Residents to Global Marketing [OPINION] #ParticipationWatch
  • [ March 31, 2026 ] Rio Civil Society Forms Front to Defend Trees From City Hall #ParticipationWatch
  • [ March 29, 2026 ] Award-Winning Middle School in Penha Favela Hosts Gardening Collective Action Engaging Passionate Young Environmental Leaders *Highlight
  • [ March 28, 2026 ] Wave of Deadly Tree Pruning has Left Jacarepaguá Resident Desperate for Shade: Account Exposes Senseless Loss to Rio’s West Zone by Community Contributors
  • [ March 22, 2026 ] The ‘Carolinas of Jacutinga’ Promote Recycling, Women’s Dignity, Art, Environmental Education, Heritage and Sustainable Development Across Five Cities in Greater Rio *Highlight
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#MonitoringCrivella

As Carnival Begins in Rio, Evidence Mounts of Mayor Crivella’s War on Afro-Brazilian Popular Culture

By Rachel Louise Brabbins • February 10, 2018

Clique aqui para Português An explosion of color. Glitter, sequins, feathers, infectious music and of course samba dancing cue the start of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival 2018. But this year it’s Carnival with a difference—a […]

#CommunityMedia

Images and Complexes Film Festival in Manguinhos Celebrates Favela Film Production

By Nour El-Youssef • October 8, 2016

Clique aqui para Português From September 29 to October 2, the Cine Manguinhos in the Manguinhos favela in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro hosted the first ever Images and Complexes Film Festival, featuring […]

*Highlight

Uplifting Festival Reimagine Rio Captures Innovation of Rio’s Communities

By Alix Vadot • August 12, 2016

Clique aqui para Português With a premiere screening of the film, Bad & the Birdieman, Festival Reimagine Rio was officially launched on July 30 in Chacrinha, a favela located in Jacarepaguá, in Rio de Janeiro’s West Zone. […]

by Community Contributors

FLUPP Favela Literary Festival is a Hit in Mangueira

By Juliana Portella • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • November 27, 2014

The success of the third edition of the festival, with over 20,000 people in attendance, is proof that favelas are also good spaces for discussing and creating literature. The third edition of Flupp: Literary Festival […]

RioOnWatch’s anti-racist reporting series won silver in the 2022 inaugural The Anthem Awards, in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category among Best Local Awareness Programs.
A Project of

About

In May 2010, Catalytic Communities launched what was originally Rio Olympics Neighborhood Watch (hence RioOnWatch), a program to bring visibility to favela community voices in the lead-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics. This news site, RioOnWatch.org, grew into a much-needed and unique reference featuring favela perspectives on the urban transformation of Rio. With diverse and deeply interlinked articles by a mix of community reporters, resident opinions, solidarity reporters, international observers, and academic researchers, we work to engender a more accurate picture of favelas, their contributions to the city, and the potential of favela-led community development in Rio and around the world.

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Awards

Special Thanks

Fundação Heinrich Böll Brasil
World Habitat
Fideicomiso de la Tierra Caño Martín Peña
Pastoral de Favelas
Center for CLT Innovation
Global Land Alliance
Ecocity Builders
Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation
SDSU Behner Stiefel Center
The Rio Times
Forum Grita Baixada
Beto Paixão Graphic Design
Architecture Museum of Vienna
Yale School of Architecture

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