Al Jazeera focuses on the global need for shelter throughout September‏

Doha, 14 September: What constitutes ‘home’ for millions around the world? What is the quality of life in different shelters and communities?  This month Al Jazeera English features special coverage on these questions, with broadcast, online and programming content available at http://www.aljazeera.com/theslum/.

 

Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, Al Anstey, comments “In all corners of the globe millions of people are struggling to find shelter and establish a home for them and their families.  The movement of millions from rural areas to cities to find work is unprecedented and is impacting on populations and countries world-wide.  This is a topic which touches people everywhere, and deserves in-depth coverage. This month Al Jazeera English shows all aspects of this wide ranging issue in our News output, Programmes, and our digital content on all platforms, providing our audiences enlightening, sharp, and engaging stories from across the world.” 

 

News coverage on global shelter through September

 

Throughout September, Al Jazeera Correspondents will be reporting across the globe, giving in-depth insight into the lives and experiences of some of the 800 million individuals living in slums worldwide.

 

Senior Correspondent  Mohammed Adow reports  from Makoko, Nigeria from a slum built on water. The oily waters provide a way of life for the fishing community but also the greatest dangers, spreading disease through the cramped population. On September 13, Senior Correspondent Rob Reynolds reports from the notorious LA compound ‘The Jungle’, revealing that even the wealthiest cities in America have places where homeless and impoverished people survive. Both stories are available online.

 

On September 14, Correspondent Nidhi Dutt travels to Dharavi, India  to meet a family fighting hardship in India’s financial capital Mumbai, in one of Asia’s largest slums. But despite a lack of running water and sewage systems to medical facilities, many people who live there proudly call it home. Adam Raney reports from Ixtapaluca on September 15, on the edge of Mexico City where many people from the poor countryside settle as they look for better paid jobs in the capital. The slums have few services and can be dangerous.

 

Available on the website aljazeera.com/theslum/ will be background stories on the characters featured in news and programs from India, US, Mexico and Nigeria, as well as additional features and infographics.

 

In-depth programming on global shelter issues

 

Currently on air in September is Al Jazeera’s ground breaking series ‘Rebel Architecture’, focusing on the architects using design to tackle the world’s urban, environmental and social crises, from Vietnam, Nigeria, Spain, Pakistan, Israel/Occupied West Bank and Spain. This series is also available to view online  at http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/rebelarchitecture/ .

 

The Stream will discuss the criminalization of homelessness in the US on the 15 September at 19.30 GMT. Across the country there has been a drastic increase in legislation that make it difficult for the homeless to stay on the right side of the law.

 

On 18 September, Al Jazeera’s premieres Al Jazeera’s compelling new six-part observational documentary series ‘The Slum’, revealing life in the renowned Paradise Heights Tondo slums of Manila, through the eyes of some of its residents. The series shows lives full of aspirations, hopes and dreams, despite the hardships of slum living, with more additional content available at http://www.aljazeera.com/theslum/ .

 

September Al Jazeera Magazine editions

 

The two September issues of the Al Jazeera Magazine explore our relationships with the places we call home, asking what determines where we live and how our health, hopes and prospects are shaped by our environment.

 

In the current issue available now, we hear from township residents challenging perceptions in South Africa, nomads planting roots in Russia and migrants going in search of a place to call home.

 

In the second issue, out on September 18, we meet residents of a West Bank village surrounded by hazardous chemical factories, Pacific Ocean islanders taking on climate change to save their homes and Iraqis seeking sanctuary.