Recognizing Favelas as Traditional Communities: Knowledge, Culture, and Climate Policy for Urban Resilience
SPEAKERS:
Juliana Garcia — Executive Director, Instituto Nós em Movimento
Anielle Franco — Ministry of Racial Equality
Guilherme Simões — National Secretary for Urban Peripheries in the Ministry of Cities
Wesley Teixeira — Brazilian Activist and PSB State Deputy
Raull Santiago — Brazilian Activist and Social Influencer, UN Youth Representative on Global Social Issues
Gabriel Mendes — Activist, World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and Founder of the “Favelas as Traditional Communities” Concept
EVENT DESCRIPTION:
The panel aims to reflect on urban policies and innovative actions that recognize favelas as traditional communities, territories of ancestry, culture, and resistance. The discussion starts from the understanding that favelas, like quilombos and terreiros, are spaces of memory and creativity that have historically faced environmental racism and urban exclusion.
The debate highlights how exclusionary public policies, based on removals and territorial control, have deepened socio-environmental inequalities and vulnerabilities. At the same time, it emphasizes the role of favelas as centers of innovation, community science, and climate adaptation, where local knowledge and ancestral practices become solutions to urban and environmental challenges.
The panel reinforces the importance of recognizing favelas as legitimate territories for environmental management and cultural identity, ensuring their rights, territorial security, and sense of belonging. Beyond denouncing injustices, the initiative proposes pathways that integrate climate, racial, and social justice, valuing the creative potential of the peripheries in building more just, inclusive, and resilient cities.