Urban solidarity networks
Introduction
Informal Settlements International (in English, Slum / Shack Dwellers International, SDI), is a global social movement on poverty in urban spaces that began in 1996. It forms a network of community organizations in 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.[1].
The Informal Settlements International secretariat is located in Cape Town, South Africa. The current president is Sheela Patel. The majority of members are poor urban households aligned with the squatter movement, on the outskirts of cities to access employment opportunities. Its objective is to ensure that the needs of its members are integrated and not marginalized by city administrations.[2].
Informal Settlements International distributes community-generated data on cities and slums through the 'Know Your City' campaign, which is run in partnership with United Cities and Local Governments and Cities Alliance.[3].
Global solidarity
The organization's former president, Jockin Arputham, said in 2012: "Global solidarity of the urban poor has been a long-term dream for many of us in the Informal Settlements International network. This dream began to take shape in the early 1990s when shack-dwellers in South Africa's informal settlements began visiting pavement dwellers living on the streets of Mumbai. Since those days, the network has grown Consistently growing in number, in influence and in its impact on the daily lives of millions of poor urban families, hands-on, face-to-face learning remains the main driving force of the Informal Settlements International network, which now extends from Asia, across Africa to Latin America and the Caribbean (region). which runs in an unbroken thread from home to settlement, from settlement to city, from city to city and from country to the world stage."[4].
Support
Informal Settlements International works closely with the following international agencies: UN Habitat (especially its Global Land Tools Network Programme, where Informal Settlements International co-chairs its International Advisory Board); Cities Alliance (Informal Settlements International, currently a member of its Executive Committee;[5] with whom he launched the high-profile campaign; the Santa Fe Institute with which he is developing an informal settlement information data platform.[6].