The Viva Favela portal is an innovative virtual communication experience – a simple and ingenious idea that the non-governmental organization, Viva Rio, has transformed into reality.

The first Internet portal in Brazil designed exclusively around the needs and interests of low-income communities, Viva Favela has a team made up of journalists and “community correspondents” – favela residents qualified to act as reporters and photographers.

With their “inside” perspective, they help expose all of the human, historical, cultural, economic, and social dimensions of these areas.

Started in July 2001, Viva Favela aims to broaden the digital inclusion of these communities and to reduce social inequality. It is the only Latin American portal of its kind.

By producing journalistic coverage different from the conventional media – which tends to cover primarily themes connected to violence –Viva Favela has become an inspirational source of material for newspapers, magazines, and television stations.

The favelas, which are home to a significant portion (1.2 million) of Rio de Janeiro’s city population, had been lacking a channel of expression. By creating this channel and making a practically unknown part of urban reality available to the mainstream, Viva Favela has become also an important reference to researchers, students, and academics around the world.

The websites created and hosted by the project are: Favela Tem Memória, Beleza Pura, EcoPop.

Viva Rio’s mission

Viva Rio is a non-profit, philanthropic civil association, of social and cultural character, created in December of 1993 by representatives of diverse sectors of the civil society as a direct reply to the increasing violence in Rio de Janeiro. Viva Rio works for a social integration and its main objective is to surpass the violence and the social exclusion in the State of Rio de Janeiro.

We co-ordinate projects and peace campaigns in areas such as Education, Community Development, Public Safety, Human Rights and Communication, through a network of more than 1000 local partners.

Our projects are run in order to have clear results that may be multiplied. They must also strengthen local associations (neighborhoods associations, churches, clubs, co-operatives, etc), that are the local managers of products developed by Viva Rio.

For more information please contact:

Viva Favela

Mayra Jucá, Project Coordinator (55 21) 2555-3794

Rodrigo Nogueira, Editor of Viva Favela, (55 21) 2555-3750 (3322)

Viva Rio

Graciela Bittencourt, coordinator press advisory office, (55 21) 2555-3764