This is the spirit of the Brazil-UK International Dialogue on Bottom-Up Social Development, which takes place in the Candido Mendes University, in downtown Rio de Janeiro, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The International Dialogue, a partnership between the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and UNESCO in Brazil (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), brings together multiple voices from Brazil and the United Kingdom to discuss lessons learned, the dilemmas and challenges of bottom-up social development experiences – born in the community – how they interconnect and influence civil society and public policies.

During the event, the publication Bottom-Up Social Development in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro: a Toolkit will be launched: a practical guide and manual containing tools, information and concepts based on evidence about the social development model found in grassroots organizations. The Guide is aimed at opinion makers, activists, experts, community leaders, teachers, engaged young people and policy makers interested in successful strategies and innovative approaches on how to work with grassroots organizations and elaborate public policies in Brazil.

The event builds on the research findings of Underground Sociabilities, an international and inter-institutional partnership that studied the identity, culture and resilience of favela communities in Rio de Janeiro, based on the NGOs AfroReggae and CUFA (Central Union of Favelas).  Since 2009, LSE and UNESCO in Brazil have led a number of international events on the creative power of dialogue between government, policy makers, activists, NGOs, researchers and marginalized citizens.

The program includes specialists of the two organizing institutions: the Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, Nada Al-Nashif; the Lead Programme Coordinator of UNESCO Office in Brazil, Marlova Noleto; the Professor of Social Policy at LSE, Anthony Hall, and Professor of Social Psychology and Director of the Masters in Social and Cultural Psychology at LSE, Sandra Jovchelovitch.

"This is a dialogue that still has much to teach us," explains Sandra, noting that Brazil and the United Kingdom share very rich bottom-up experiences. The partnership between LSE and UNESCO mapped these approaches in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and is now disseminating them globally. "These bottom-up solutions, with inputs and knowledge of the local reality, are essential to produce effective public policies and benefit many other communities," continues Sandra.

Underground Sociabilities

The research in which the discussions of the International Dialogue are based consisted on interviews with 204 residents of the communities of Cantagalo Cidade de Deus, Madureira and Vigário Geral. It also involved a study about AfroReggae and CUFA organizations, with the analysis of 130 social development projects and interviews with their leaders, as well as an assessment with experts, observers and partners of the two institutions in Rio de Janeiro, including the police.

The study, coordinated by Sandra Jovchelovitch and co-authored by the researcher, Jaqueline Priego-Hernandez, both from LSE, cast light on the so-called underground sociabilities in the favelas, social life practices that are part of the daily routine of Brazilian society, but remain invisible due to geographic, economic, symbolic, behavioral, and cultural barriers. Based on alternative forms of integration, socialization and social regeneration capable of breaking the barriers of exclusion and marginalization faced by favela communities, new possibilities arise to create different solutions to the social problems found in these communities.

• Programme of the Bottom-Up Social Development: a UK-Brazil Dialogue (in Portuguese)
• Underground Sociabilities: Identity, Culture and Resistance in the Favelas of Rio de Janeiro
• LSE blog
• Publication Bottom-Up Social Development in Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas: a Toolkit

For more information:

UNESCO in Brazil

Ana Lucia Guimaraes, +55 (61) 2106-3536, +55 (61) 9966-3287, a.guimaraes@unesco.org 

Demetrio Weber, +55 (61) 2106-3538, d.weber(at)unesco.org

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Candy Gibson, Senior Press Officer, LSE, 0207 955 7440 or c.gibson@lse.ac.uk