MENU
  • English
  • Português
  • English
  • Português
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
RioOnWatch
MENU
  • Home ►
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
    • Reference Articles
  • Communities ►
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North Zone
    • West Zone
    • Greater Rio
  • Policies ►
    • Public Security
    • Housing
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Health
    • Sanitation
  • Violations ►
    • Human Rights
    • Housing Rights
    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing ►
    • Community Organizing
    • Community Solution
    • Resistance
    • Sustainability
    • Participation
    • Protest
    • Culture
    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map ►
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series ►
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About ►
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate
  • Home
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
    • Reference Articles
  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North Zone
    • West Zone
    • Greater Rio
  • Policies
    • Public Security
    • Housing
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Health
    • Sanitation
  • Violations
    • Human Rights
    • Housing Rights
    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
    • Community Organizing
    • Community Solution
    • Resistance
    • Sustainability
    • Participation
    • Protest
    • Culture
    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate
Latest News
  • [ June 21, 2025 ] ‘We’re Working at the Micro Level Because There Are People Destroying Things on a Macro Scale’: In Rio de Janeiro, ‘Green Roof Favela’ Engages Popular Culture on World Environment Day Civil Society
  • [ June 20, 2025 ] Get to Know ‘Gaia Space’, A Network of Women Fighting for Environmental Justice and Obstetric Dignity in Greater Rio de Janeiro *Highlight
  • [ June 10, 2025 ] Groundbreaking Oral History Project—‘Favela Climate Memory’—Launches Final Exhibition, Fostering Emotional Connection Between Climate, Nature and Community [Video] *Highlight
  • [ June 7, 2025 ] ‘Being a Black Woman Running a Museum Means Facing the Past, Eye to Eye… It’s Reparation in Motion’: Sinara Rúbia’s Full Speech at Brazil’s 1st Seminar on Anti-Racist Museums *Highlight
  • [ June 5, 2025 ] ‘A Museology That Doesn’t Serve Life Serves No Purpose’: ‘Unconventional’ Favela Museums Lead First Seminar of Rio de Janeiro’s Social Museology Network *Highlight
Homefreedom of expression

freedom of expression

#CommunityMedia

Questionable State of Brazilian Democracy Threatens Freedom of Speech, Journalist Safety and Election Coverage in the Favelas

By Tatiana Lima • Translation by Ethan Kaimana • September 9, 2022

Click here for Portuguese This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Center for Critical Studies in Language, Education, and Society (NECLES), at the Fluminense Federal University (UFF), to produce articles to be […]

*Highlight

Perspectives on Theater from Young Black Favela Actors: Body and Voice in the Fight for Rights

By Alexandre Cerqueira • Translation by Fred Hanson • October 28, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This article is the latest contribution to our year-long reporting project, “Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro.” Follow our Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas […]

Original artwork by David Amen
*Highlight

The Key to the Cage: Funk as the Liberating Art of Favela Bodies [PODCAST] 

By Artur Vinicius Amaro • Translation by Mikayla Ribeiro • March 5, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This article is the latest contribution to our year-long reporting project, “Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro.” Follow our Rooting Anti-Racism in the […]

*Highlight

Veiled Racism in the Criminalization of Carioca Funk, Part 1: ‘Let the Favela Win, Shine!’

By Ingra Maciel • Translation by Constance Malleret • February 26, 2021

Clique aqui para Português This is the first of two articles on the criminalization of funk music and oppression of black favela culture. Read part 2 here. The Judiciary and the Criminalization of Funkeiros “Let […]

by Community Contributors

The Experience of a Trans Man Living on the Outskirts of Rio de Janeiro

By Thábara Garcia • Translation by Sarah Jacobs • August 12, 2019

Clique aqui para Português This article is part of the ongoing series Challenges of Living in Magé. Fifty years after the Stonewall Uprising, the LGBTQI+ community continues to face countless challenges. The lives of gay […]

Posts pagination

« 1 2 3 »

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.

Contact & Support

contact@rioonwatch.org
WhatsApp +55.21.991.976.444
USA VOIP +1.301.637.7360

Volunteer | Donate

10 Years! Check Out Our Story:

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

MENU
  • Home ►
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
    • Reference Articles
  • Communities ►
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North Zone
    • West Zone
    • Greater Rio
  • Policies ►
    • Public Security
    • Housing
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Health
    • Sanitation
  • Violations ►
    • Human Rights
    • Housing Rights
    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing ►
    • Community Organizing
    • Community Solution
    • Resistance
    • Sustainability
    • Participation
    • Protest
    • Culture
    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map ►
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series ►
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About ►
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate
  • Home
    • Highlighted Stories
    • Understanding Rio
    • Reference Articles
  • Communities
    • Central
    • South Zone
    • North Zone
    • West Zone
    • Greater Rio
  • Policies
    • Public Security
    • Housing
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Health
    • Sanitation
  • Violations
    • Human Rights
    • Housing Rights
    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
    • Community Organizing
    • Community Solution
    • Resistance
    • Sustainability
    • Participation
    • Protest
    • Culture
    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
  • Donate

© 2025 Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International