Pioneer project compiles information on favelas in Rio de Janeiro

The Program of Public Sphere Studies (PEEP) of FGV’s Brazilian School of Public and Business Administration (EBAPE), coordinated by professor Sonia Fleury, launched a new research project titled ‘Dicionário Carioca de Favelas’ [Dictionary of Favelas in Rio de Janeiro], which also includes the Virtual Libraries. The project’s goal is to create a Wiki platform compiling information regarding favelas in Rio de Janeiro, besides enabling the collective creation of entries, documents, and iconography.

The Dictionary seeks to fill a gap in a trans-disciplinary area of knowledge, which is the study of favelas, bringing together the knowledge produced in thematic tracks, such as the history of the location (including timeline, institutions and personalities, and socioeconomic conditions), as well as urbanization, security, and social public policies. The project also includes information on associations and sociability, culture, and youth education, among others, as well as bibliographic and photographic records from other institutions.  

The initiative is based on a Wiki platform and, as such, intends to be a dynamic, cumulative, and open resource to promote collective production. The methodology and modeling of this platform were designed to ensure scientific rigor, in addition to being an instrument to mobilize the collective production of knowledge surrounding favelas in Rio de Janeiro. The libraries seek to provide texts, documents, and photos about the favelas and encourage the collective production of memory about each favela in particular.

The Dicionário Carioca de Favelas and the Virtual Libraries of Favelas rely on financial support from FGV’s Applied Research and Knowledge Network and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (CNPq). The projects also received technical and operational support from FGV’s Information and Communication Technology (TIC) to create a dedicated space for the Library and Dictionary platforms in FGV’s academic library.

Its institutional network includes partners such as CEVIS and IESP, from Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), the Computing Institute of Rio de Janeiro Federal University (UFF), the Urban Planning and Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro Federal University (IPPUR), the UrbanData of the Metropolis Observatory of University of Sao Paulo, Piratininga Communication Center (NPC), ECO Group of Santa Marta, Center for Studies in Cultural Actions and Citizenship (CEACC) of Cidade de Deus, Raízes em Movimento (CEPEDOCA) of Alemão, and Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ) with researchers from Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, the Presidency’s Social Cooperation Office, and the Institute of Health Communication and Technology Information.

The first PEEP team meeting with the partner institutions to outline the features based on the deployment methodology, structure, and dynamics of the Dictionary and Virtual Libraries will take place next Monday, August 14, 2017, at EBAPE, starting at 4 p.m.