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Latest News
  • [ September 27, 2023 ] Favela Climate Memory Circles, Part 3: NOPH in Antares, Santa Cruz, Where ‘No One Was Supposed to Stay, but 40 Years Went by and They Never Took Action’ Climate Justice
  • [ September 26, 2023 ] Favela Climate Memory Circles, Part 2: Sankofa Museum in Rocinha Shows That ‘When We Fight Together, We Win’ *Highlight
  • [ September 25, 2023 ] Favela Climate Memory Circles, Part 1: Maré Museum Highlights ‘Stilt Houses as a Survival Strategy, as Knowledge’ *Highlight
  • [ September 21, 2023 ] Leaders at Ten Cultural Spaces, Art Centers, and Museums in Rio Create Climate Projects Using Culture, Art, and Sustainability *Highlight
  • [ September 14, 2023 ] Rio de Janeiro Street Vendors’ Battle for Rights: My Informal Work Matters! [VIDEO] *Highlight
HomeWritersTiago Donato

Writer: Tiago Donato

Tiago Donato studied at Rio de Janeiro’s traditional Colégio Pedro II federal public school. After high school and an unsuccessful 2-year academic experience at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, he spent the next 3 years between the US and UK, where he worked jobs in and around the hospitality industry. Over the years, Tiago discovered a fundamental pleasure in listening to people, speaking to them, and in doing so trying to be a means for people to feel worthy. Time away from Rio helped shed deeply held prejudices and habits, and to elucidate the meaning of the social environment the city provides its dwellers, becoming, upon his return, his motivation for joining Catalytic Communities. After one year’s experience with Catalytic Communities, Tiago has returned to college to work on a degree in Journalism, having found it as his true calling.

#EvictionsWatch

RioOnWatchTV: “Demolition crews return to Vila Harmonia”

By Tiago Donato • March 9, 2011

Watch on Youtube On the 22nd of February, the injunction that, last December, had suspended the demolitions in Vila Harmonia, a community in the West Zone of Rio, was dropped. Two days later, demolition crews […]

Homes at Vila Autódromo on the edge of the lake
#EvictionsWatch

Vila Autódromo’s Court Ruling and the Next Step

By Tiago Donato • February 18, 2011

This past Tuesday, the Rio municipal government established, by the Mayor’s decree, the Council for the City’s Legacy, a group of people who will act as consultants in the matter of how to ensure a […]

No Picture
#CommunityMedia

RioOnWatchTV: “Restinga, Vila Harmonia and Recreio II”

By Tiago Donato • January 2, 2011

The communities of Restinga, Vila Harmonia and Recreio 2, in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro saw themselves the target of relentless municipal government action towards the end of 2010, as City Hall staffers, […]

Navy tanks parked near Complexo do Alemão
Policies

Police Seizure of Complexo do Alemão in Context

By Tiago Donato • December 10, 2010

Rio de Janeiro – In a quick and decisive military sweep, Brazilian security forces seized control of this city’s most notorious slum on Sunday, claiming victory in a weeklong battle against drug gangs that has […]

#CommunityMedia

The Media Role in the Removal of Vila Taboinha

By Tiago Donato • November 13, 2010

This past week, residents of the community of Vila Taboinha, in the far West Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, were faced with their forced eviction and successfully resisted. Residents settled in the […]

  • ‘Monkeys’: A Transformative Theater Experience Confronting the Reality of Grieving Mothers and the Genocide of Black Brazilians [REVIEW]
    By Cleyton Santanna • Translation by Felicity Clarke • September 12, 2023
  • 8th Black July: Insurgent Media Unites Brazil and Palestine in Fight Against State Violence
    By Amanda Baroni Lopes • Translation by Staff • August 10, 2023
  • Casa Dulce Seixas: The First and Only LGBTQIAPN+ Refuge in the Baixada Fluminense Offers Hope and Transformation
    By João Victor Silva • Translation by Cristina Fornara • June 30, 2023

  • Understanding Energy Justice and Efficiency in Rio’s Favelas [VIDEO]
    By Jaqueline Suarez • Translation by Pilar Boyero • December 13, 2021
  • Pedra Branca and the Energy Dilemmas of Rio’s Urbanization: From Charcoal to Electricity
    By Antonio Alonso, Iamni Torres Jager • Translation by Trisha Ponti • November 1, 2021
  • Energy That Comes From Waste: Biodigester Turns Sewage into Biogas in Vale Encantado Favela [VIDEO]
    By Jaqueline Suarez • Translation by Saskia Wright • August 1, 2021

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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