Social innovation project puts Rio's slums on the map

In the slums of Brazil social innovation has come recently in the form of mapping. A digital mapping project by the youth enterprise Rede Jovem has, for the past year, been using mobile technology and GPS systems to map the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. This project, known as Wikimapa, has engaged the help five young "wiki-reporters" who, armed with GPS-equipped mobile phones, have been mapping the neighbourhoods of Complexo do Alemao, Cidade de Deus, Morro do Pavao-Pavaozinho, Morro Santa Marta and Complexo da Mare, and creating the first real maps of these areas.

Although there are hospitals, coffee shops and restaurants in the favelas, none of these appear on a map. For fire fighters, police and ambulances it is near impossible to navigate the maze-like settlements. Postmen also struggle to deliver letters to homes without addresses. According to Natalia Santos, the executive coordinator for Rede Jovem: "The main goal was to mark public interest spots on a map and show places like schools and institutions and hospitals and restaurants… We wanted to spread the news about what slums do have, so all the people can get to know that the slum is not just a place for violence and marginality and robbery."

All the young "wiki-reporters" are women, according to Santos. Although the project originally intended to have male participants, the men were nervous about being in the favelas with costly mobile phones. "The boys in the last phase of the selection said they wouldn't have the guts to walk with a cell phone in a slum," said Santos. "Girls can walk with a lot more freedom than boys, and boys get approached by the police." The reporters are between the ages of 17 and 25, and all are in their final year of high school.  For the person who maps the most information there will be the prize of a scholarship to study communications or journalism at a private university.

'Rede Jovem', which translates roughly as 'Youth Net', is a non-profit organisation committed to bringing social innovation to the poorest youths of Brazil. The organisation has been in operation since 2000 and works in the deprived areas of metropolitan Brazil. Their aim is to facilitate social and civic participation by young members of these poor communities through the provision of access to information technology. The organisation uses IT as its main tool for social innovation projects.

The favela mapping project, known as Wikimapa, was designed to tackle the lack of interaction, access and usage of new information and communication technologies by residents of slums and low-income areas of Brazil. These technical barriers only go to heighten the exclusion experienced by this area of society and so projects that bring residents into the technology loop are invaluable. Rede Jovem recognised the potential for social innovation provided by the ever-evolving mobile technology and wiki based platforms. The organisation hopes that mapping low-income areas and slums, will lead to better social inclusion for residents of the slums. Using virtual and mobile mapping services has never been offered to these areas, until now. So now, for the first time, this social innovation project will literally will put the favelas on the map!

Image credit: Andrew Dent