INSIGHTS
Brazilian Activist Aline Sousa Calls for More than Words: Action

October 5, 2023, Brazilian Activist and a leader in the Latin American Recycling World presented her ideas for actions at the U.N.’s event in Geneva:
DECLARATION ON DIVERSITY COMPLEMENT THE DDPA?
The side event will ask this pertinent question. It is over twenty years since the Durban Declaration and Plan of Action was passed with great hopes in South Africa in 2001. Some changes have taken place but racism and related discriminations continue.
The hopes placed in the DDPA are alive. States and NGOs are committed to the spirit of DDPA. It needs some further encouragement.
Discrimination occurs for many reasons including people being uncomfortable with diversity. We wonder whether positive actions by States to encourage inclusion and to make diversity a norm will compliment the principles that inform the DDPA.
Speakers
- Jan Lonn, The DDPA and where it stands today.
- Jasdev Rai What a Declaration on Diversity proposes
- Aline Sousa from Brazil. How Brazil has make Diversity inclusive
- Biro Working with Diversity
Aline Sousa Calls for More than words: Action
It is a most exciting time to be alive right now. Think about it for a moment: there’s so much we can do together with all these great nations here if we want to.
With all the crises we must overcome, solving them while preventing new ones requires a different way of thinking:
We must be cooperative, not proprietary, in our thinking and actions.
There has been too much talking and minimal action. To improve the quality of life on this beautiful planet, we must
COOPERATE!
In 2018, brazil, the country with the most prominent black population outside of the continent of Africa AND the most indigenous that survived colonial genocide, elected a white supremacist president. That hadn’t happened since Hitler’s Germany!….
Imagine–a once brutally colonized country that kidnapped and enslaved the most Africans to this new world.
We lived four years of hate, fear, and genocide. Black and brown people displayed the swastica, and some even marched to the nazi goose step.
When the resistance defeated fascism through the next elections, the regime did not want to give up its power.
Brazil was under threat of a violent coup. Our new democratically elected president, who always respected diversity, decided that people’s power would be the only way to establish a peaceful transition. Seven representatives, each leader of their class and position in Civil society, were chosen out of 220 million Brazilians.
Our famous indigenous chief, the disabled, a great teacher and educational advocate, leading woman activists, lgbt, domestic workers, and my category, recyclers.
I, as my mother and father, as their mother and father before them, was born homeless. We grew up in landfills separating trash, some of which we would build shacks, cloth, and sometimes even used to nourish ourselves.
This went on for three generations! One day after another, of the many times that the police would arrive with bulldozers and trucks to destroy the little we had, I decided that one day we could break that cycle of poverty and violence of what was nothing more than ethnic cleansing. Like the untouchables of Índia, we were an eyesore that the then-ruling elite was uncomfortable with.
We began to organize, and today, I’ve been honored with the task of leading one of Latin America’s largest waste cooperatives. My people have real homes and work and are part of what our planet needs for all, including that ruling elite, to survive.
Now, they award us; they depend on our advice for social public inclusion policies. Never in my wildest dreams could I have ever imagined that I would be chosen to represent the seven leaders who helped transform a country infested with hatred and on the verge of civil war into the even stronger democracy we are today.
However, political democracy can not survive without economic democracy. We can not eliminate racism without identifying classism. Also, many talk about diversity today, but what good is diversity when we are dangerously close to decimating our biodiversity?
Many today will talk about cultural racism, but what about environmental racism? Ecological racism or ecological apartheid is a form of institutional racism leading to landfills, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal disproportionately placed in communities of color.
This I’ve earned the right to claim some expertise with. I lived and studied it, and my life’s mission has been to abolish it.
Now, Even that powerful elite that discriminated against us by demolishing our homes, destroyed our livelihoods, and, in my case, took what I most treasured as a child, the books I would read to dream about myself, my family, and all the many living in extreme and humiliating poverty to escape from.
Today, that same elite is starting to understand that we, once untouchables and invisible people marginalized by society, are vital to the survival of all, not just human society but all species of life on our planet. Now they understand that interconnectedness, Love, and tolerant coexistênce are natural laws.
Our planet will not survive through continued resource extraction. Recycling has now leaped from the dark shadows towards a light for solution. Hence, I must end this speech with an important warning. The world is in the process of transformation from a unipolar to a multipolar one. This is a good thing, but I made the following alert.
We are on the right path, but some suffer as all shifts in world order. And history has taught us that people experiencing poverty are the most vulnerable.
Today, Recycling has become an essential part of a successful transition to a better world. Still, the instrumental changes needed for a revolution, as in de-dollarization, make Recycling impossible. The recent fall of the dólar has animated my people’s wages. For example, within the last few months, we must collect 8 tons of discarded boxes and paper to earn 270 dollars a month!
In these same months, I’ve been invited to speak at events like this the world over; I’ve been awarded many awards, including the environmental and social justice award from the US ambassador to the UN, the very body I’m speaking to today, yet another event, another talk.
With all due respect, I say enough awards, enough talk!
IF recyclers are critical to a sustainable world, I call on the UN to take emergency action to help recyclers survive because, at this moment, this is a category that is about to become extinct. After many years of struggle, the irony is that one of the critical solutions to climate change, meeting sustainable development goals and species survival, is in danger…in this war to save our planet, we need fewer awards and recognitions. We need more comprehension because I must apologize for the repetition, but again, the human diversity we defend here will not even exist without biodiversity.
After decades of plodding and painful progress, Recyclers worldwide need immediate, urgent assistance. I am very sad to say that again, just in the last few months, this critical activity has quickly degenerated back to my grandmother’s generation, an endangered species……thank you for your attention and consideration, and much gratitude to this noble family of nations, may God help us all……
INFO-COMM
The Painful Truth about AI & Robotics

By 2045, there will be virtually nothing a human can do that a machine cannot to better for a tiny fraction of the cost. A robot that has a lifetime cost of $10,000, works 22 hours per day, and lasts 5 years would have an hourly marginal cost of just 25 cents. And when robots are building all the robots, they will cost a lot less than $10,000.
The marginal cost of labor will plummet toward zero as adoption of humanoid robots powered by increasingly capable AI explodes across every virtually industry worldwide. Humans simply will not be able to compete.
Join Adam Dorr, RethinkX Director of Research as he relays his latest insight on the inevitable and painful truth of the coming disruption of the human labor engine by AI and humanoid robots…
Visit the RethinkX Website for more groundbreaking insights: https://www.rethinkx.com
Connecting the Dots
A Call for Public Media in a Broken Democracy

Courtesy of Pressenza
To confront the barrage of executive orders and undiplomatic policies from the U.S. government, the opposition is focusing on restoring institutions to their pre-Trump state—without recognizing that it was precisely those institutions that created the conditions for the current crisis.
The democracy they claim to defend was largely formal: it worked for some while leaving millions marginalized. For decades, no serious action was taken to stop the relentless concentration of wealth, the decline in living standards, or the dehumanizing effects of unchecked technological development. These issues remain unaddressed.
Now, the new administration is threatening to cut federal funding for public radio and television, accusing these outlets of being too “leftist” or “woke.”
But perhaps even more revealing than the threat itself is the reaction of public media institutions. WNYC in New York, for example, has leveraged this threat primarily as a fundraising opportunity, urging listeners to donate out of fear rather than conviction.
This response exposes a fundamental contradiction. These institutions speak of “democracy” and “public service,” yet they are unable—or unwilling—to mount a truly democratic response. Why aren’t they calling on people to stand up for public goods? Why not organize a large-scale campaign, like a concert in Central Park, to advocate for a federal public funding system that remains independent of presidential politics? New York has plenty of artists ready to contribute and stand up for others.
The question becomes clear:
Will institutions like WNYC and NPR help advance genuine democracy, or will they gradually transform into privatized versions of non-profit entities? If we want democracy, we need active public participation. If we accept privatization, we merely need people’s money.
Today, there is no visible leadership in our so-called democratic institutions that is mobilizing the population to build a new democratic system—one that addresses economic redistribution and real public participation. This isn’t just about public broadcasting. What future awaits Social Security, Medicare, the U.S. Postal Service, public libraries, and other essential public services?
These institutions cannot be privatized. No modern society can develop without deepening democracy, improving standards of living, and ensuring collective well-being. A society governed primarily by self-interest ultimately undermines itself.
So today, my call is to WNYC and NPR: Please stop trying to merely save yourselves in a collapsing system. Instead, help move the country forward. Mobilize people. Inspire engagement. Become a force in building a new, inclusive society for all.
INSIGHTS
Flip the Script: An Open Call to Community Leaders Everywhere

In every corner of the world, communities are confronting intersecting crises: environmental collapse, social injustice, economic inequality, misinformation, and broken systems. But behind the headlines—beyond the noise—a different story is being written.
It’s a story of courage, collaboration, and collective wisdom.
It’s a story that isn’t being told loudly enough.
That’s where you come in.
We are MobilizedNews.com, and this is an open invitation to flip the script—to break free from crisis-driven media loops and become part of a global, cooperative network of community leaders, media makers, and changemakers who are turning knowledge into action and stories into systems change.
Why “Flip the Script”?
Because we’re tired of narratives that divide, distract, and disempower.
Because we know there’s more to the world than corruption, conflict, and catastrophe.
Because we’ve seen what’s possible when communities lead with ethics, inclusion, and imagination.
“Flipping the script” means reclaiming the narrative—telling the stories that corporate media won’t, and building the systems that status quo institutions can’t.
It means showing what’s working, who’s rising, and how we’re moving forward together.
What Is Mobilized News?
MobilizedNews.com is not just a media platform—it’s a collaborative movement and a living library of solutions, strategies, and shared wisdom.
We connect:
- Community leaders and organizers
- Educators, researchers, and policy thinkers
- Regenerative businesses and cooperatives
- Artists, journalists, technologists, and designers
Together, we’re co-creating an ethical, decentralized media ecosystem that amplifies truth, fosters cooperation, and spotlights real, systemic solutions—across sectors, cultures, and continents.
What We Offer
✅ A platform to publish your stories, initiatives, and blueprints for change
✅ Access to a growing global network of changemakers and collaborators
✅ Toolkits for ethical storytelling, regenerative systems, and cooperative action
✅ Workshops, events, and live broadcasts that center local voices
✅ A non-commercial, ad-free, community-powered digital commons
Whether you’re launching a circular economy hub, leading a mutual aid network, running a local school garden, or organizing for indigenous land rights—your story matters here.
Who We’re Calling In
- Neighborhood organizers and social justice leaders
- Indigenous elders and youth visionaries
- Local food growers and climate resiliency advocates
- Co-op builders, educators, and public health champions
- Tech-for-good creators and ethical journalists
- Dreamers. Doers. People like you.
You don’t need a fancy press kit or a big budget.
You just need a truth to share—and a will to build.
Get Mobilized
Here’s how to get started:
- Visit www.MobilizedNews.com
- Create your profile and join a circle of aligned changemakers
- Share your work, your insights, your call to action
- Collaborate with others—locally and globally
- Flip the script—and help rewrite the future
Final Word: This Is the Media We Need
Corporate news thrives on fear.
We thrive on connection, co-creation, and courage.
Mobilized News is the future of media made by and for the people—a place where movements can move together.
So if you’re ready to reclaim the narrative…
If you’re building something rooted in justice, care, and imagination…
If you believe another world is possible—and happening now…
Flip the script. Get Mobilized. Join us.
Mobilized News: The Media for an Empowered World.
www.MobilizedNews.com