{"id":82266,"date":"2025-12-05T19:14:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T22:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=82266"},"modified":"2025-12-21T19:52:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T22:52:48","slug":"favela-based-media-are-a-pillar-of-democracy-in-rocinha-climate-justice-takes-center-stage-at-the-3rd-conference-on-favela-and-peripheral-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=82266","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Favela-based Media Are a Pillar of Democracy\u2019: In Rocinha, Climate Justice Takes Center Stage at the 3rd Conference on Favela and Peripheral Journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"3rd<\/a>
3rd Conference on Favela and Peripheral Journalism brings together leaders from more than 12 Brazilian states in Rio’s largest favela, Rocinha. Photo: Igor Siqueira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

From October 30 through November 1, 2025, Rocinha<\/a>, Brazil’s second largest favela in Rio de Janeiro\u2019s South Zone<\/a>, hosted the 3rd Conference on Favela and Peripheral Journalism<\/a>\u2014a national meeting that offered an immersion in journalism and climate issues for communicators and leaders of community media outlets<\/a> from favelas and urban peripheries across the country.<\/p>\n

The event offered training sessions and lectures that addressed the challenges faced by community-based media, including funding, public policies<\/a>, climate issues in favelas and community organizing, as well as discussions on climate justice<\/a> in these communities.<\/p>\n

With the theme \u201cClimate Justice for Favelas and Peripheral Areas,\u201d the free event was co-organized by Rocinha’s\u00a0Fala Ro\u00e7a<\/em><\/a> newspaper and Ag\u00eancia Mural<\/em><\/a>, from S\u00e3o Paulo. The partnership gave the conference an unprecedented scope, bringing together media collectives from multiple states to discuss how to secure climate justice for favelas at a national level.<\/p>\n

According to Tatiana Lima, coordinator of journalism and editor-in-chief at Fala Ro\u00e7a<\/em><\/a>, this edition’s new format enabled collective reflection on the environmental challenges faced by peripheral communities across the country, especially given the lack of spaces dedicated to discussing issues that intersect favelas and the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur [favela perspective] on climate justice is rooted in access to rights and public policies that are properly scaled. It\u2019s not just about mitigation and containment of climate change<\/a> and everything [this] brings, but also about confronting the structural racism<\/a> that favelas and peripheral areas face\u2014and that climate change only manages to worsen. When do we ever have a space that is truly ours, where we can listen from within and speak to our own realities? Almost never, right? Peripheral and favela-based media\u2014local media\u2014are also a pillar of democracy<\/a>. Our ecosystem complements other ecosystems. Sometimes it converges, sometimes it diverges. We take part in that broader ecosystem, but we also have our own, which needs to be sustainable, financially viable and mindful of public policies. Is the solution that worked in territory \u2018X\u2019 applicable to Rocinha? And can the solution that worked in Rocinha help a favela in Amap\u00e1?\u201d \u2014 Tatiana Lima<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Community<\/a>
Community media and climate were central themes guiding the conference\u2019s discussions. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ancestral Communication to Meet Contemporary Demands<\/h3>\n

With this in mind, the way communities communicate and connect also matters. The workshop \u201cAncestral Communication for Possible Futures<\/a>,\u201d led by Lene Ferreira, a journalist from the northeastern state of Pernambuco and member of the Afoitas<\/a> portal, offered guidance on how to build assertive communication\u2014an essential tool for bringing favelas closer to climate-related discussions in a society that is increasingly hyperconnected, yet often disconnected from its own surroundings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see how it\u2019s possible to do journalism without having a direct relationship with people living in favelas, especially those who are faced with the constant violations of their rights\u2026 Our profession is a service to society. It demands a great deal of responsibility and commitment to marginalized communities\u2014particularly those at the base of the social pyramid, who have endured countless violations throughout history. Communication is a way for us to build reparations for the Black people in this country<\/a>, who have been humiliated, neglected and abandoned for too long.<\/p>\n

We cannot build communication that truly serves this population without it being rooted in the knowledge, doings and [everyday] practices of peripheral territories. In the people who are actively and truly shaping their communities through culture. Every time we stop to think about journalism and reflect on its role, we are pushed\u2014and required\u2014to take on a more engaged and activist role, ensuring that [our] agendas have a greater reach. There\u2019s no way to do that if we aren\u2019t close to these populations. Ancestral communication calls for a reconnection with these territories, a reconnection with people, so that through [this reconnection] we can produce journalism that makes sense, that generates meaning and that also sparks transformation.\u201d \u2014 Lene Ferreira<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Leonardo Nogueira, a resident of Santa Cruz<\/a> in Rio\u2019s West Zone<\/a> and a journalist at Data Labe<\/a>, cited the tradition of loudspeaker announcements as an example of how established communication practices, combined with today\u2019s technological resources, can support this mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnologies need to coexist\u2014not replace one another. Radio, for example, is an ancestral form of communication, created long before us, yet still used today for specific purposes in our areas. Connecting communication and ancestral knowledge<\/a> means thinking about how we can better communicate our existence and how we can better communicate with the people we want to reach, the people we want to speak to.\u201d \u2014 Leonardo Nogueira<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"The<\/a>
The workshops fostered an exchange between collectives from different states, sharing training and strategies for grassroots communicators. Photo: Igor Siqueira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the importance of these outlets\u2014and their crucial role in bringing the agenda of favela climate issues to the forefront\u2014those working in community-based media<\/a> still face significant challenges.<\/p>\n

Community Media Means Being Part of the Solution<\/h3>\n

Elize Mayara, a communicator with the Tapaj\u00f4nico Youth Collective<\/a> from Bel\u00e9m, capital of the Amazonian state of Par\u00e1, explains that addressing this topic within communities requires not only communication, but also mobilization and awareness-building. To her, it means being part of the solution<\/a>\u2014especially because many people still do not associate the problems they experience in their daily lives with the climate crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that, in order to enter a favela and talk about climate justice, we first need to show the climate injustices we face, right? Because when we turn to people and say, \u2018I\u2019m here to talk about climate justice,\u2019 their reaction is often, \u2018Well, for me, climate change is something that happens when ice melts somewhere far away.\u2019 So, to begin this discussion and show that [environmental issues are] real, not something made up, we need to start by talking about [the problems]. In my region, for instance, we\u2019ve been dealing with mercury levels in people\u2019s blood, which are extremely high. They\u2019re conducting studies and collecting data on this. But then what? What happens to these people afterward? How do we solve it? How many people are affected? What are we going to do? I find myself thinking about the situation in my state regarding this. As a collective, we get paid very little, we get very little funding. If it\u2019s difficult for you here [in the Southeast], imagine what it\u2019s like for us.\u201d \u2014 Elize Mayara<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lack of Funding Limits the Reach of Climate-Focused Community Media<\/h3>\n

The lack of funding and public policies was a central theme of the event, identified as one of the main bottlenecks for those running community media projects. Despite their importance and the urgent, unique role they play, many community-based outlets operate on a tightrope to stay afloat.<\/p>\n

The difficulty in securing funds forces many to rely on grants\u2014something that, according to Fernanda Cal\u00e9, born and raised in the West Zone favela of Rio das Pedras<\/a> and cofounder of Ag\u00eancia Lume<\/a>, is not always feasible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see grant calls that demand very complex requirements, others not so much, but sometimes [the actual approval] ends up being very subjective, right? We [at Ag\u00eancia Lume], for example, applied to over 15 calls for proposals and never even heard back [which jeopardized the sustainability of our project]. So how do we rethink this logic and break free from [relying solely on] grants? In the end, not everyone can be awarded them. Beyond discussing how to access philanthropy\u2014which is extremely important, just as grants are, and something we discuss at every conference\u2014how do we build a new strategy? Of course, this means shifting the paradigm; it\u2019s almost like inventing a new one. We\u2019re all here trying to figure it out, but how can we also direct our attention toward changing this logic? What kind of logic can we create in its place? Sometimes a small amount of support for one organization can become meaningful support for other [media projects] that are just starting out.\u201d \u2014 Fernanda Cal\u00e9<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this context, Daiene Mendes, born and raised in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a> in the North Zone<\/a> and now serving as director of Rio\u2019s Journalism Support Fund<\/a>, explains that philanthropy has become an alternative for sustaining community-based media outlets. Even so, she says the most powerful tool for driving this change is creating these exchange spaces\u2014spaces where access to information circulates within the communities themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhilanthropy is a system that operates on trust. You build trust with someone\u2014it\u2019s about relationships. And who has [historically] had access to philanthropy? Those who [can] spend time on [affluent] Leblon beach. They go out to dinner [together], then to a show on Flamengo Beach. There\u2019s no complex formula\u2014that\u2019s how it works. Historically, this space has been extremely restricted. If we look back, the journalism organizations that received philanthropic funding have shared a very specific profile, haven’t they? They were historically white, elitist organizations. So, it’s important to highlight something interesting about this panel we\u2019re on right now: the diversity<\/a> represented here directly impacts who will receive funding. Because the moment this funding reaches our hands\u2014people with little money, but with a commitment to our territories\u2014[that changes the whole scenario].\u201d \u2014 Daiene Mendes<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Facing<\/a>
Facing funding challenges, communicators reflect on how to make their projects sustainable. Photo: Igor Siqueira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018As Long as Environmental Racism Exists, There Can Be No Climate Justice\u2019<\/h3>\n

According to Osvaldo Lopes, executive producer at Fala Ro\u00e7a<\/em>, the event marks an important step in establishing community journalism as an authority in grassroots communication and as a reference for guiding how this work should be carried out to meet the needs of favelas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, we are building communication from our areas alongside what I like to call our \u2018sister territories.\u2019 Making this national movement to strengthen the construction of a network is very important because it shows mainstream media that we, too, are professional, high-quality journalists, reporting from within our own communities. The time has come for us to tell and narrate the problems, the lived experiences and the victories of our communities from our own perspective. Ever since we started holding this conference in 2022, we\u2019ve been learning and systematizing all of this to create a comprehensive and truly diverse report based on the realities of each state. This will allow us to define [how] grassroots communication should be done and [what] level of journalism quality we truly need.\u201d \u2014 Osvaldo Lopes<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Joining the discussions on the panel \u201cWhat Is Climate Justice for Our Favela Territories?\u201d was Ant\u00f4nio Firmino, co-founder of the Rocinha Sankofa Museum<\/a> responsible for organizing the Rocinha Climate Memory Circle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He explains that, due to the community\u2019s longstanding lack of basic sanitation services<\/a>, Rocinha residents began mobilizing in the 1970s<\/a> to clean and restore the area\u2019s open sewage channels. This initiative eventually allowed for the installation of a primary healthcare unit<\/a> in Rocinha\u2014showing how collective mobilizations can drive change and improvements within the community. The conference, he adds, is one such effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order to prevent Rocinha from being removed<\/a> in the 1970s, residents began cleaning the channels, which were natural waterways<\/a> for rain and spring water\u2026 The residents organized collective cleanups of these channels, benefiting everyone. [This struggle] brought Rocinha a family health clinic that has now been around for 43 years\u2026 Talking about justice means talking about basic rights. This lack<\/a> [of public investment in improvements], and the few public policies in this regard, affects us every single day. How can we expect climate justice if there\u2019s no concern for basic sanitation in this country? Does anyone consider where the trash goes after putting it in a dumpster or bin?… We just get rid of the waste, but we also have a responsibility. As long as environmental racism<\/a> exists, there is no climate justice.\u201d \u2014 Ant\u00f4nio Firmino<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Organizers<\/a>
Organizers share challenges faced across different urban peripheries. Photo: Igor Siqueira<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For social media manager and Rocinha resident Isabelle Trindade, the idea of holding a communication conference in Rocinha is a strategy that represents the first step toward climate justice: including the favela in the debate<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be able to speak from our own standpoint; we need to talk about our reality. We always see mainstream media talk about what they think, what they believe and sometimes it doesn’t actually apply to where we live or to how we live. So it\u2019s very important that we\u2019re able to speak and give visibility to the perspectives of people who belong to that territory. We need to understand that we are part of these discussions and part of the environment. We have to take care of where we live and be aware of what we can do to change the climate reality, which is becoming increasingly harmful and impactful. Soon, we won\u2019t have a future if we don\u2019t start looking at the reality we live in [now].\u201d \u2014 Isabelle Trindade<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Uma publica\u00e7\u00e3o compartilhada por Fala Ro\u00e7a (@jornalfalaroca)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n