Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) is a network of community-based organizations of the urban poor in 33 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It was launched in 1996 when "federations" of the urban poor agreed that a global platform could help their local initiatives develop alternatives to evictions while also impacting on the global agenda for urban development. Its mission is to link urban poor communities from cities across the South that have developed successful mobilization, advocacy and problem solving strategies.