When people hear the phrase “favelas around the world,” many still imagine something exclusively Brazilian. But anyone who pays attention to the reality of the global periphery understands that we’re talking about a shared phenomenon present in dozens of countries.
From Latin America to Africa, from Europe to the Middle East, popular territories carry similar stories: creativity rising from limitation, organization emerging from abandonment, and strength flourishing in the face of inequality.
And it’s this deep, almost intuitive resemblance that makes the World Forum of Favelas a historic event.
Territories that rarely have access to the same institutional spaces are now coming together to produce thought, social technology, and collective strategy — not through the lens of governments, but through the lived experiences of those who build, breathe, and shape these places every day.
A Diversity That Reveals Global Patterns
Colombia, Germany, Angola, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Liberia, Mexico, Benin, Sweden, Uruguay, Tanzania, Mali, Congo (Kinshasa), Uganda, Honduras, Venezuela, Kenya, Spain, Paraguay, Nigeria, France, Mozambique, and Ecuador are among the countries already confirmed.
These territories represent completely different realities, yet they share points of connection that only those who live the city can truly translate. Whether in Argentina’s villas, South Africa’s townships, France’s suburban peripheries, Colombia’s popular neighborhoods, or African community territories, the logic is the same: where the State barely arrives, the community arrives fully.
Each country brings its own baggage, its struggles, and its solutions — the kind that don’t show up in official reports but work in real life.
This Is Not “Cultural Exchange.” This Is International Strategy
Communities create real models of coexistence, creative economy, crisis management, digital access, tactical urbanism, and social innovation. And these models — once seen merely as “improvised solutions” — are now recognized as legitimate social technologies.
The World Forum of Favelas celebrates the global periphery and builds a shared future, grounded in the wisdom and ingenuity of those who transform their territories from within.
Service: World Forum of Favelas
Dates: December 11–14, 2025
Locations:
12/11: CUFA Madureira – R. Francisco Batista, 01 – Madureira
12/12: CUFA Penha – Estrada José Rucas, 1266 – Penha
12/13 and 12/14: Museum of Tomorrow – Praça Mauá, 01 – Downtown Rio de Janeiro/RJ
Official channels:
@worldforumoffavelas • @forummundialdasfavelas | www.worldforumoffavelas.com
