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G20 BRASIL
Representatives of G20 working groups visit favela in Rio and listen to leaders on women's inclusion and disaster prevention
A delegation formed by representatives of the G20 Working Groups on Empowerment of Women and Disaster Risk Reduction visited risk areas and community initiatives in Complexo do Alemão, located in Rio de Janeiro.
On Saturday (14), the G20 visited Complexo do Alemão, a favela located in Rio de Janeiro, to talk to local leaders in an initiative that reinforces its commitment to social inclusion. The Complexo do Alemão community presented its People's Action Plan. The meeting included debates on the Community Risk Reduction Plan and the Periferia Viva Award, as well as the reading of the Favelas' Charter, which contained demands and proposals on these issues.
The meeting was promoted by the Brazilian Ministries of Women, Foreign Affairs (MRE), Cities and Integration and Regional Development (MIDR), which coordinate the G20 Working Groups on Empowerment of Women and Disaster Risk Reduction. The delegation visited risk areas and community initiatives, highlighting the importance of policies that give voice to local women and residents.
The group visited areas of the community where there is a risk of landslides and got a closer look at the latest actions by the federal government in the region, such as the initial containment works under the first Growth Acceleration Program (PAC).
"The goal is to show the importance of investment in risk management and prevention. After all, we know that most of the people who live in communities and are impacted by disasters are the poorest and most vulnerable, the black, peripheral, and favela population, living in communities such as Complexo do Alemão," explained the National Secretary for Peripheries (SNP) of the Ministry of Cities, Guilherme Simões Pereira.
Lucia Cabral, a resident of Complexo do Alemão and a social worker, presented the publication Women on the Front Line, the result of a self-managed initiative by the women of the community. “As women who have experienced the economic, educational, health, and other policies, they have built this summary of everything we have been signaling as necessary for a profound construction. Because we must start from this premise, from the favela to the asphalt,” she said. The document includes policies on education, women's health, and fighting against obstetric violence, among others.
With the publication in hand, Maria Helena Guarezi, executive secretary of the Ministry of Women's Affairs and coordinator of the G20 Empowerment of Women Working Group, reinforced the Ministry and the WG's commitment to including women in spaces of power and decision-making. "Our Working Group presented a proposal to the other groups so that women's inclusion would become a unified voice at the G20. All topics will be discussed? So, how can women participate? Because without them there will be no equality,” she said.
The dialogue will be transformed into a report that will be presented to the G20 delegations. "The goal is to show the importance of investment in risk management and prevention. After all, we know that most of the people who live in communities and are impacted by disasters are the poorest and most vulnerable, the black, peripheral, and favela population, living in communities such as Complexo do Alemão," explained the National Secretary for Peripheries (SNP) of the Ministry of Cities, Guilherme Simões Pereira.
Itinerary of the visit
After visiting the offices of the Raízes em Movimento Institute, the delegation paid a visit to Travessa Laurinda, a risk area selected for investments through the New PAC - Urbanization of Favelas; then checked the current state of a cable car that has been deactivated since 2016; and got to know the community garden developed in partnership with the National Secretariat for Peripheries (SNP) of the Federal Government and the Institute for Urban and Regional Research and Planning (IPPUR) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
The Federal Government will invest more than BRL 140 million in Complexo do Alemão through the New PAC - Favela Urbanization. Now, all the work will be carried out in consultation with the community, unlike the actions of the first PAC. “We are developing a Community Risk Management Plan. So we have a very good prospect of changing the reality here through the residents themselves,” explained Alan Brum. Alan is a resident and community leader in Complexo do Alemão, co-founder of the Raízes em Movimento Institute, sociologist and PhD student in Urban Planning at IPPUR/UFRJ.
Information from the Brasil's Ministries of Integration, Regional Development, and Women