The City of Rio de Janeiro wins Governarte contest: the art of good governance, with Social Territories Program. The contest is promoted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).

The purpose of the competition is to identify successful public management experiences, appreciating criteria such as innovation, social inclusion or sustainability, so that they are disseminated and adapted throughout the region.

The Social Territories Program, started in 2017, has as it is central objective to identify the social risk of families living in the city of Rio de Janeiro to reduce their vulnerabilities and promote their right to the city.

The program is jointly developed by the Secretariat of the Civil House, the Pereira Passos Institute and the Departments of Health; Social Assistance and Human Rights; Education; Urbanism, Infrastructure and Housing; Culture; and Development, Employment and Innovation. It also has a partnership with UN-Habitat Regional Office for Latin America that contributes with its expertise in methodologies and exchange of tools and international experiences.

The Program won the award in the “Innovative Services Targeting Vulnerable Communities” category. Currently the program is being extended to the large slum complexes in Rio de Janeiro that have the lowest Social Progress Index (IPS): Alemão, Maré, Chapadão, Pedreira, Vila Kennedy, Lins, Penha, Cidade de Deus, Jacarezinho e Rocinha. The goal is to benefit over 420,000 people. In the first two years of the program, 20,000 households living in extreme poverty were visited - some even had no water filter, documentation and the children were out of kindergartens and schools.

In its sixth edition, the award selects the best initiatives from subnational governments, such as states, provinces, departments, municipalities, or other equivalent denominations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The winning initiatives will be recognized at a public awards ceremony during the Annual Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Electronic Government Network (GEALC), which will be held on October 2-3, 2019, in Buenos Aires (Argentina).