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| Rede Maré | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rede Maré |
| Type | Community network |
| Founded | 1990s |
| Location | Complexo da Maré, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Region served | Nova Sepetiba, Complexo da Maré |
| Key people | José Francisco da Silva; Maria de Lourdes; Associação de Moradores da Maré |
Rede Maré is a community network based in the Complexo da Maré, a group of favelas in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. It emerged from local resident associations, faith-based groups and non-governmental organizations to coordinate social services, cultural activities and civic advocacy across multiple neighborhoods. The network links community leaders, grassroots organizations and municipal institutions to address housing, health and public safety challenges in one of the largest informal settlements in Brazil.
The origins trace to resident mobilization in the 1990s when local leaders allied with activists from Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra, staff from Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, and representatives of religious institutions such as the Catholic Church and Assemblies of God to confront issues of inadequate sanitation and policing. During the 2000s, collaborations formed with international NGOs including Habitat for Humanity and foundations like the Ford Foundation to channel funding and technical assistance for urban upgrading. Rede Maré played a coordinating role during public crises such as the 2010s public security operations involving the Brazilian Army and the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State, and interfaced with municipal programs initiated by administrations of Luiz Paulo Conde and Eduardo Paes to expand primary healthcare linked to Sistema Único de Saúde initiatives. Academic partnerships developed with researchers from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro to document living conditions and map social assets.
The network operates across the Complexo da Maré, which neighbors transportation corridors like the Rio–Niterói Bridge and is intersected by federal highways near the Galeão International Airport. The physical layout encompasses dozens of Communities of Practice coordinated through community centers, health posts and cultural houses distributed among districts such as Conjunto de Favelas da Maré sectors. Organizationally, Rede Maré functions as a coalition of local associations, cooperatives and social enterprises modeled after multi-stakeholder platforms used in urban projects with actors like UN-Habitat and World Bank. Mapping initiatives have used cadastral work similar to projects by Instituto Pereira Passos to identify infrastructure gaps and community assets.
Decision-making relies on assemblies involving neighborhood associations, cooperatives and nonprofit partners such as the Viva Rio and local branches of the Brazilian Red Cross. Affiliated actors include community health agents linked to Ministry of Health (Brazil), educational collectives inspired by Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra pedagogy, and legal aid projects reminiscent of the Defensoria Pública do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. International collaborations have involved networks like Open Society Foundations and municipal counterparts in exchange programs with cities such as Medellín and Lisbon. Governance combines participatory councils, ad hoc working groups and memoranda of understanding with municipal secretariats responsible for urban development and social assistance, drawing procedural templates from participatory budgeting practices used in Porto Alegre.
Rede Maré coordinates social programs addressing primary healthcare, maternal-child services, and harm reduction through partners modeled on Pastoral da Criança and public clinics that mirror primary care units linked to the Sistema Único de Saúde. Educational services include after-school programs inspired by curricula from Instituto Ayrton Senna and literacy campaigns resembling initiatives by the União Nacional dos Estudantes. Food security projects and solidarity economy efforts operate alongside employment training connected to local branches of SENAI and SEBRAE. Emergency response coordination during floods and displacement has involved collaboration with agencies like Defesa Civil and humanitarian groups such as Médicos Sem Fronteiras in planning and logistics.
Cultural programming is broad, ranging from samba and funk workshops that echo traditions traced to Rio de Janeiro Carnival collectives, to theater and visual arts residencies partnering with institutions like the Museu de Arte do Rio and community radio projects inspired by Radio Comunitária do Rio. Festivals and street interventions draw links to cultural policies implemented under municipal secretariats and collaborations with artists affiliated with Circo Voador and collectives from Maré de Notícias. Sport and youth engagement use models from social inclusion programs tied to clubs such as Fluminense FC and NGOs that promote football and capoeira as tools for social development.
Public safety initiatives are multifaceted: community patrols and mediation programs coordinate with civil society groups similar to Observatório de Favelas while engaging in dialogue with the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro and national policing oversight bodies. Rede Maré has advocated for alternatives to militarized policing, proposing community-based violence prevention models informed by studies from Instituto Sou da Paz and policy recommendations discussed in forums with members of Câmara dos Vereadores do Rio de Janeiro. Legal assistance programs work alongside human rights organizations such as Amnesty International to document incidents and pursue accountability.
Economic initiatives include cooperatives for artisanal production, waste collection and urban agriculture tied to agrarian programs promoted by Ministry of Agrarian Development (Brazil), microcredit projects reflecting practices of Banco do Nordeste microfinance pilots, and entrepreneurship training aligned with SEBRAE methodologies. Infrastructure campaigns have targeted sanitation, drainage and housing upgrades based on participatory upgrading frameworks used by UN-Habitat and case studies from Favela Bairro-style interventions. Transport access and connectivity advocacy have interfaced with operators like SuperVia and municipal transit authorities to improve mobility for residents.
Category:Organisations based in Rio de Janeiro Category:Favela community networks