the central única das favelas - cufa is  nationally recognized organization active in social, sporting, and cultural events - mostly related to music and hip-hop.

born form the union of youth across many of rio's favelas who wanted to find a medium of expression for their cultural values and identities, cufa grew to involve the rapper mv-bill and nega gizza. 

while mv bill was awarded by unesco  for his activities, nega gizza is the director of hutuz, the biggest rap/film festival of latin america, and a cufa production.  other cufa's projects are listed on this link.        

viva rio, is an ngo based in rio promoting a peace culture through field-work, research, and the formulation of public policies.  established in 1993 as an answer to the increasing incidence of violence in the city, the organization puts special effort in integrating youths at risk and addressing gun control.