Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments

News

  • Batua acts as ‘living lab’ for RISE’s safe restart with communities

    (3 November 2020) After more than six months of paused field work, Batua neighbourhood is acting as the living lab for restarting community work in a COVID-19 world.

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  • Scientists advance in detecting antimicrobial resistance genes

    (2 November 2020) RISE microbiologists have identified a technique that effectively detects antimicrobial resistance genes, which could lead to a better understanding of antimicrobial resistance in informal settlements.

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  • Health and wellbeing in informal settlements in the time of COVID-19

    (2 September 2020) Attention is growing into the potential implications of COVID-19 for people’s mental health and wellbeing. In August we launched a survey asking informal settlement residents about the state of their lives in these challenging times.

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  • COVID-19 having major impacts on informal settlements, report shows

    (5 August 2020) The shutdown of Fiji’s national borders and colossal tourism sector has had a significant impact on the lives of already vulnerable families, according to a recently released RISE report.

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  • Blueprints ready to turn design ideas into reality

    (3 August 2020) In a major program milestone, Detailed Engineering Drawings have been completed for the first six Indonesia communities that RISE is revitalising, bringing us a critical step closer to construction.

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  • The ‘RISE Reset’ – not standing still

    (6 July 2020) In a COVID-19 world, we will need to be even more creative and adaptable to ensure research continuity. We have started a process to ‘reset’ our program.

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  • Support continues for residents in hard-hit South Sulawesi province

    (6 July 2020) RISE is doubling down to support the program’s informal settlement residents in Makassar - the capital of South Sulawesi, which has become one of the country’s leading provinces in coronavirus cases.

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  • A symbolic gift and continued connection

    (6 July 2020) A socially distanced visit and gift drop comes after a phone check-in revealed that the impacts of COVID-19 have left many Fijian families in desperate need of support.

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  • RISE stands in solidarity with communities during pandemic

    (3 June 2020) The recent shut-down of Makassar city has left many informal settlement residents unable to leave their homes to go to work. The RISE Indonesia team reached out to help.

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  • Connecting from afar while Fiji 'big gatherings' are on hold

    (3 June 2020) With big group gatherings on hold, the next best thing we can do is check in from a distance. We are contacting the Fiji households taking part in RISE to see how they are coping, and what they need.

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  • From government to grassroots: responding to COVID-19 in Fiji’s informal settlements

    (5 May 2020) RISE is working in partnership with UN-Habitat and Fiji Government agencies to provide rapid response support to more than 70 informal settlements to help alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 on informal settlement households.

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  • COVID-19 Update

    (27 March 2020) We are adapting how we deliver RISE during this challenging time. We are committed to containing and safely managing, as best as possible, the spread of COVID-19 across our operations.

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  • RISE comes to life for Asian Development Bank President

    (2 March 2020) New Asian Development Bank President Masatsugu Asakawa travelled to meet with residents of Batua - RISE's Indonesia demonstration site - to find out first-hand how the program is impacting their lives.

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  • NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern turns first soil for RISE in Fiji

    (26 February 2020) The NZ Prime Minister officially launched construction of RISE’s green infrastructure at the program’s demonstration site in Fiji.

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  • RISE and World Mosquito Program enlist mosquitoes in fight against disease

    (29 January 2020) Mosquitoes are at the heart of a unique partnership between RISE and the World Mosquito Program. Both programs are working towards a healthier world, and both rely on mosquitoes to get there.

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  • Fiji celebrates baseline completion and holds randomisation ceremony

    (3 December 2019) On Tuesday 26 November, communities and stakeholders packed into a conference centre in Suva in vibrant kalavata, to hear about RISE’s research progress in Fiji so far, and find out which six communities will be upgraded first.

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  • Batua neighbourhood proud to be first informal settlement to receive RISE water and sanitation upgrades

    (23 October 2019) Over the weekend, residents of Batua settlement in Makassar City became the very first residents to have their neighbourhood upgraded with sustainable water and sanitation infrastructure.

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  • 'It used to be just a shadow'. Tour gives communities chance to see RISE infrastructure in action

    (9 October 2019) In September, more than 20 community representatives from Tallo, Lempangang and Bonelengga settlements toured Batua settlement to see how RISE's green infrastructure has become a reality

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  • RISE welcomes NZ$3m funding from New Zealand Government

    (9 October 2019) The New Zealand Government has awarded NZ$3 million to RISE over three years, to help improve water and sanitation in informal settlements in Fiji.

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  • Advancing the conversation: making RISE infrastructure sustainable in Fiji

    (30 August 2019) This month, community representatives came together with local RISE partner organisations to learn about the technical components of RISE’s infrastructure, and continue discussions about shared responsibility for its maintenance.

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  • Pacific islands commit to making cities sustainable as urban growth gets set to double

    (12 July 2019) More than 200 participants from over 25 countries have committed to making cities in the Pacific prosperous, inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, coming out of the fifth Pacific Urban Forum held last week in Nadi, Fiji.

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  • All hands on deck as Suva launches baseline survey

    (1 July 2019) With 735 households in Suva consented to take part in RISE, our community fieldworkers have begun the epic task of conducting the baseline health and wellbeing survey with residents.

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  • UN-Habitat and MSDI unite to advance SDGs in the Asia-Pacific

    (20 June 2019) A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the United Nations Human Settlements Programme and Monash University to advance the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the Asia-Pacific.

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  • VIDEO: Residents have their say on water and sanitation upgrades in their neighbourhood

    (31 May 2019) A new video goes behind the scenes of recent participatory design workshops in Gampancayya settlement, Makassar, where residents have helped plan the water and sanitation upgrades for their neighbourhoods.

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  • Monash and Emory universities unite to advance gender-sensitive water research

    (16 April 2019) Monash University and Emory University have announced a partnership to conduct research into gender-responsive design of water and sanitation services for the world’s most vulnerable and marginalised living in urban informal settlements.

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  • Makassar celebrates baseline data findings and holds randomisation ceremony

    (31 March 2019) On Sunday 31 March, more than 180 women and men, and girls and boys came together in Makassar to celebrate the completion of baseline sampling.

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  • Smart Cities, Healthy Cities

    (8 August 2018) On 8 August, RISE Indonesia joined a number of government, NGO and community stakeholders for a Makassar Smart City Forum, held by the Makassar City Government with the United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The forum was held to increase cross-sector participation and cooperation in creating a smart, healthy city.

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  • RISE hosts SIWW 'Hot Issues' workshop

    (20 July 2018) This month, Professor Tony Wong (RISE/ CRCWSC), Kerrie Burge (RISE/ CRCWSC), Jane Wardani (RISE), Mere Naulumatua (ADB), Andi Hadijah Iriani (Makassar City Planning and Development Board), and Professor Rob Skinner (Monash Water Sensitive Cities) headed to Singapore International Water Week (SIWW). As part of the program, the RISE team hosted a half-day Hot Issues Workshop titled Strengthening Delivery of WaSH to Urban Informal Settlements in the Asia-Pacific.

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  • Inaugural CEC Workshop held in Suva

    (9 June 2018) On Saturday 9 June, RISE Fiji hosted a workshop for Community Engagement Council (CEC) representatives from the 13 RISE settlements across Suva, Fiji. Bringing the CECs together for the first time is a key milestone in the RISE Community Mobilisation Strategy.

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  • Kato Katz training in Parasitologi Lab at UNHAS

    (4 May 2018) Last week, the RISE Makassar Lab Team undertook Kato Katz training in the Parasitologi Laboratory at Hasanuddin University (UNHAS), led by RISE UNHAS Focal Point, Professor Ancha Ansariadi and Asni, Laboran of Parasitologi Laboratory in the UNHAS Faculty of Medicine.

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  • Field training and baseline survey piloting completed in Suva

    (3 May 2018) During April, RISE Objective 4 (Well-being) Leader, Professor David Johnston and RISE researchers, Dr Joanne O’Toole, Dr Fiona Barker, Dr Rohan Sweeney and Karinna Saxby conducted human health and well-being lab and field training, and baseline survey piloting with the RISE team in Suva.

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  • Melbourne Water delivers training in Suva for RISE

    (29 March 2018) This month, RISE partner, Melbourne Water delivered essential Integrated Water Management (IWM) training to the RISE team, local partners and government counterparts in Suva, Fiji.

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  • RISE Makassar communities gather on World Water Day

    (22 March 2018) On World Water Day, RISE hosted a workshop for community representatives – Kelompok Pengelola Lingkungan (KePoLink) – from the 13 RISE settlements across Makassar, Indonesia.

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  • Monash partners with three prominent Asia Pacific universities for RISE

    (20 March 2018) Monash has signed partnership agreements with three of the Asia Pacific’s most highly regarded universities - Hasanuddin University (UNHAS) in Indonesia; and, Fiji National University (FNU) and The University of the South Pacific (USP) in Fiji - for RISE.

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  • Monash formalises partnership with Wellcome Sanger Institute for RISE

    (26 February 2018) Monash has just signed a five-year research collaboration agreement with world-leading centre in genomic discovery and understanding, the Wellcome Sanger Institute for RISE.

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  • MSDI partners with United Nations University for RISE

    (27 November 2017) MSDI is thrilled to announce its official partnership with the United Nations University – International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH) as part of the RISE program.

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  • Children given a voice through RISE Dreaming activity in Fiji

    (20 November 2017) RISE Research Fellow, Dr Michaela Prescott explains how the RISE co-design workshop involved a range of participatory tools developed and adapted for different groups within the community, such as children.

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  • Informal settlement communities in Fiji and Indonesia co-design water-sensitive upgrading plans under RISE

    (4 October 2017) A team from Monash Art Design and Architecture (MADA), led by Professor Diego Ramirez-Lovering, has just returned from Suva, Fiji after implementing the first RISE co-design workshop.

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