Chicas Poderosas, a global community that promotes female leadership and generates knowledge to shape the future of the media, will kickoff the second edition of their independent media accelerator, New Ventures Lab, in São Paulo, Brazil on January 14th.
This year, nine innovative projects focused on gender, media literacy, sexuality and fact-checking, among others, were selected to receive mentorship and training during 20 weeks, through virtual and in person encounters. During one week, the leaders of these media projects based in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil will participate in workshops on business models, project management and innovation, with international experts.
“For five years now, Chicas Poderosas has been boosting the growth of women in the media industry in 18 countries, generating an impact in the industry and promoting gender equality,” says Mariana Santos, CEO of Chicas Poderosas. “With the New Ventures Lab, we continue to work to achieve a more diverse media industry, while we support innovation, independent journalism and the leadership of women in Latin America.”
New Ventures Lab is the first accelerator for independent media outlets led by women. Using design thinking, the teams will develop sustainable business models that they will pitch to potential investors at the end of the program. The projects that participated in the first New Ventures Lab in 2018 improved their management and strategic planning skills, and they strengthened their teams.
The projects selected for the 2019 New Ventures Lab are:
Az Mina uses information as a weapon to combat gender inequality. The team formed by Carolina Oms, CEO; Thais Folego, Chief Editor; Helena Bertho, editor and reporter; and Larissa Ribeiro, art director, have been making noise on independent Brazilian media and are now looking for even more strength to combat macho authoritarianism. They say: let’s take down the patriarchy in 2019!
This team of communicators is helping understand the effervescent feminist discussions taking place in Argentina today. On the last few year there’s been progress on gender issues, but there’s a long way to go regarding sex education and feminism for young people. To advance on these matters, they are exploring diverse platforms, visual resources and new technologies. The team is formed by CEO Emilia Ruiz de Olano, Editor in Chief Ayelén Cisneros, Community Manager Ana Montes and Designers Silvina Galzerano, Lucía Olmos, Agostina Cincotta and Camil Camarero. In 2019, they want to grow and conquer the world.
This independent group seeks to start conversations about sexuality with young and adults in a didactic and attractive way, leaving the taboo aside and achieving a healthier and more open sex life for all. To achieve this ambitious goal, they want to create a platform that connects professionals on sexuality issues and encourages them to work together and disseminate their work. The team is conformed by Claudia Gutiérrez Montaño and Paulina Guijarro Núñez. In 2019, they want to launch a new platform and involve more interesting people in their community.
Eté Checagem joined the fight against fake news in 2018 to defend the human rights of the LGBTI and afro-descendant population, and of women and young people. Using Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, they distribute the results of their journalistic investigations, becoming a new voice that provides quality information on daily-use platforms. Journalists Viviane Tavares and Leila Salim and producer Mariana Medeiros want to develop Eté Checagem with their own business model, and train young women to work on their verification projects.
Fiquem Sabendo is an independent data agency with the mission to disseminate information of social interest, that the government does not disclose. Its mission is to democratize the use of the Access to Information law, promoting a culture of transparency and an engaged civil society. María Vitória Ramos, project leader, and Luiz Fernando Toledo, project manager, want to structure a business and make it sustainable so that more citizens, journalists and researchers understand the Access to Information Law encouraging positive changes in society.
To naturalize sex education is the objective of this project. Through a podcast, they seek to foster discussions based on self-knowledge and body awareness, generating a conversation between sexuality professionals and women, with humor and a relaxed tone. The team is formed by Mariana Nagem and Bianca Jhordão. They want 2019 to be a year of self-awareness and respect for differences.
This project wants to bring technology to the classrooms and transform each student and teacher into a media producer. Nobody is able to avoid search tools and social media today. That is the reason why Midia Makers aims to close the gap between schools and the student’s use of technology, designing new and attractive thinking models, with emphasis on technological literacy to be able to navigate digital media and misinformation. CEO Mariana Ochs, together with content strategist Nayse López and designer Rodrigo Moura, aim to use communication to increase the commitment of society to support a healthy, ethical and democratic society through communication.
This platform has the ambition to involve the public in a new methodology of producing, consuming and organizing media for a more prosperous and sustainable society. The portal has been developing online and offline conversations about fashion, gender and sustainability, as well as successful crowdfunding campaigns. The team members are Marina Colerato, founder, and Juliana Aguilera, journalist. In 2019, they hope to have more resilience to continue engaging the public in this new lifestyle.
It is a non-profit organization that aims to turn motherhood into a healthier and more equal experience for women. The team is conformed by Alexia Santi, Júlia Vianna, Ana Meigger, Thaiz Leão and Zá Coelho. In 2019, they want to learn how to make a sustainable business model for their project.
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If you are interested in writing a story or doing an interview about the New Ventures Lab, please write to hola@chicaspoderosas.org
