All of the projects below have a huge positive impact on the relation between underrepresented groups and the media. These are powerful transforming initiatives that stimulate the production of journalism inside communities and not from an outsider's perspective.
Favela em Pauta
Favela em Pauta is a project that first started when three journalists from Rio de Janeiro, Michel Silva, Daiene Mendes, and Thais Cavalcanti were writing stories about the 2016 Olympic Games for The Guardian. Their stories revealed a different perspective about it: away from the games, they were reporting on the realities inside favelas. In 2017, the project ended and Favela em Pauta was launched to give it continuity.
Favela em Pauta does journalism that is focused on covering the favelas from an insider perspective and reporting on themes related to social inequalities.
Festival Mix Brasil
Festival Mix Brasil is a yearly event that celebrates art and culture with LGBTQIA+ themes directed by André Fischer, a journalist who was responsible for a lot of breakthroughs in the Brazilian media landscape. It is one of the most traditional cultural events in Brazil: 2020 marked its 28th edition. Throughout the event, audiences can watch movies, plays, debates, and shows. Every year it boasts a really extensive schedule.
Énois Conteúdo
Founded in 2009, Énois is a project that promotes journalism made by people who live in poor regions in Brazil. More than 500 young people from those areas had in-person classes in Énois Journalism school. That number goes to 4,000 when we consider online classes. Stories produced by Énois were published in partners like The Intercept, The Guardian, and BBC.
More recently, Énois launched the program “Diversity in Newsrooms”: ten journalists from underrepresented groups were selected to work at ten partner media companies in different states of the country. São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are not part of the program because these are the states that concentrate most of the diversity initiatives in Brazil.
Moda em Rodas
@modaemrodas on Instagram and Facebook
Moda em Rodas is a project by journalist Heloísa Rocha focused on fashion for women with disabilities. With her posts, Heloísa wants not only to share her knowledge about fashion but to help her followers with their self-esteem. Moda em Rodas is based upon three pillars: the importance of inclusive fashion, the rescue of feminine self-esteem, and a reflection of how media and publicity still have a long way to go when it comes to the inclusion of diverse bodies.
Agência Mural
Agência Mural is a media vehicle dedicated to the outskirts of São Paulo. Almost 21 million people live in the São Paulo metropolitan area. But that region is often underserved by traditional media. Agência Mural has local correspondents who report on those neighborhoods — they call themselves “muralistas”.
The main idea is to have comprehensive coverage of everything that happens in the outskirts, including all the good things that usually don’t get coverage from more traditional outlets.
Alma Preta
Alma Preta means “Black Soul” in Portuguese. It is an outlet focused on race. On the website, audiences find news, analysis, and discussions about racism in politics, economy, culture, and sport, stories about good things that happen in favelas around Brazil, and articles about the African continent. Alma Preta also highlights Black culture and Black knowledge through all of its content.
Alma Preta has a website, a YouTube channel, and podcasts on Spotify.
