Community media makes waves in Brazil favelas (Aljazeera - June 8, 2014) #Harlem Education News: The Brotherhood/Sister Sol EXCERPT: Voz currently has a staff of nearly 30 people who use Facebook, YouTube and other tools to get their stories out into the world. The site has 130,000 followers on Twitter and nearly 25,000 on Facebook. Silva has become a local celebrity within his community and in Brazil. He has appeared on soap operas and talk shows, and has even been invited to share his story and experiences abroad. Most recently, Silva delivered a talk at Harvard University during a Digital Connections symposium, and also worked with the Harlem-based NGO Brotherhood Sister Sol in New York. In 2012, he was one of four Brazilians selected to carry the Olympic torch in London. Looking towards the future, Silva has started recruiting contributors in other favelas in Rio and in other in cities throughout Brazil to report for Voz. He has even recruited two contributors in New York who will report on Brazilians living abroad, and help translate some of the sites stories from Portuguese into English. The governments UPP programme has since been implemented in 38 favelas. While the government has hailed it as a success, the campaigns have received mixed reviews. Protest groups and community reporters like Silva remain wary of police presence in the favelas. They are also seeking additional services like improved health care and better sanitation services in the community. At the end of the day, Silva said his main focus will continue to be reporting on human stories like the tragic death of Dona Dalva, and to bring to light these and other problems that often go ignored outside Alemao. This isnt about me or about any individual, Silva said. Its about making the voice of the people heard.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Jun 2014 13:28:39 +0000
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