Last month, we published our new report covering how civil society across Latin America and the Caribbean are working toward healthier, more robust information ecosystems.
Throughout the month of October, we invite you to join us for a series of online conversations about the work of strengthening information ecosystems in these regions.
The sessions are open to those interested in reflecting about the state of information ecosystems in the region, as well as engaging in a process of collectively building information ecosystems that are healthy, robust, thriving, supportive of social justice.
Overview
Event series: Strengthening information ecosystems
10 October: Information Deserts
17 October: Responding to gendered harms within the context of information ecosystems
24 October: Information ecosystems & Environmental and Climate Justice
Each session will take place at 9am San Jose, 11am La Paz, 12pm São Paulo. Live interpretation in Portuguese, Spanish and English will be available.
10 Oct
Session 1: Information Deserts
During our first session, happening on October 10, we’ll be reflecting critically about “information deserts”.
We’ll talk about what unhealthy information ecosystems are, discuss some of the power dynamics that are embedded in naming a place an “information desert” and, most importantly, have a shared conversation about what it takes to build thriving local information ecosystems.
We’ll be joined by:
- Thaís Lazzeri, the co-founder of FALA Estúdio, where she tells stories about human rights and the environment. One of FALA’s projects is a support programme consisting of mentoring, as well as human and financial resources, to small communications and media initiatives. Learn more about their work here.
- Jéssica Botelho, a Brazilian journalist and researcher working on data monitoring and socio-environmental disinformation. She is a PhD student in Communication and Culture at UFRJ and coordinates the “Atlas da Notícias” in the North of Brazil. Read more about Jéssica’s work here.
- Adriana González, journalist from Proyecto Lava, an independent journalism organisation based in El Salvador, focusing on solutions journalism, highlighting effective responses to social problems and promoting citizen participation and democracy.
17 Oct
Session 2: Responding to Gendered Harms
For our second session, we’ll be focusing on how civil society is building solutions and responding to gendered harms within the context of hostile information ecosystems. We’ll be joined by:
- Agustina Paz Frontera from LatFem: a digitally native feminist media based in Argentina. They do “journalism from a transfeminist, intersectional and ecofeminist perspective”, focusing on “gender, class and race inequalities and the defense of democracy”. As part of their work, they host a “laboratory of narratives to broaden the political conversation in Latin American democracies”. Check them out here.
- Gabriella da Costa from ITS Rio, a researcher and PhD candidate in Communication at Fluminense University in Brazil. Gabriella will be sharing reflections from one of ITS Rio’s projects, which focuses on identifying dangerous speech dissemination on social media and their mitigation efforts.
- Karen Vergara Sánchez, a journalist and gender studies expert, who is the Director of Advocacy and as well as a researcher in tech, gender and human rights at Amaranta (Chile).
24 October
Session 3: Info ecosystems & Environmental and Climate Justice
In our third session, we’ll address the topic of healthy information ecosystems as something fundamental for environmental and climate justice. We will be joined by:
- Laura Sofía Mejía from Agencia Baudó. They work with storytellers that are not only providers of information, but rather local leaders working in their communities for social transformation. One of their projects, “Los Rastros del Cambio Climático” presents audiovisual representation of how the climate emergency takes shape in Latin America, with photos, videos and audio bringing the voices of the people most affected by climate injustices.
- Further speakers to be announced when confirmed.
We’re excited for you to join us! In the meantime, feel free to explore our research findings or get in touch if you’d like support from our team with your tech and data questions.
See you there!