During the months of June and July 2010, a group of graduate students from the New School University’s Graduate Program in International Affairs traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to work on media and human rights projects with residents of several different favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Projects were carried out in the communities of Rocinha, Maré, Cantagalo, Bangu, Vila Mimosa and Cidade de Deus.
In Maré, Cantagalo, Cidade de Deus and Bangu, the participants were children and youth from the favelas and the content of the courses included video, photography and sound, all wrapped around the general themes of human rights and child rights. In Maré, the participants learned basic photography skills and went beyond just the act of takinga photo to thinking about representation, meaning og images and the possibilities of photography as a tool for advocacy and human rights. In Cantagalo and Cidade de Deus, children and youth were taught basic video skills and interviewing skills, and the end products from these projects include a 30 minute video letter from Cantagalo and a 30 minute documentary about Children’s Rights in Cidade de Deus. In Bangu, a group of young musicians were given a whole new perspective into listening music and sounds and interpreting their lives and their community through the sounds they hear every day.
All the videos and more information about the projects carried out in Rio de Janeiro will soon be available on Equity for Children and Equidade para a Infância! Keep visiting our web sites for more news, photos, video and insight into these unique participatory media projects.
