This session will show how social issues, civic technologies, and on-site activities can converge and create new ways of civic engagement to raise awareness and empower people through campaign and activism tools. In this interactive workshop based on experiences from change agents in Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina, participants will have the opportunity to explore different perspectives, strategies, and tech tools to mobilize citizens so they can transform their interaction with democracy.
This session is curated in partnership with Movalizatorio.
Institutional and Partnerships Director, Movilizatorio
Lawyer, Political Scientist and Magister in Political Sciences of the Universidad de los Andes. Master of Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (USA). The main areas of practice in which she has worked are corporate social responsibility, international cooperation and legal and sociopolitical analysis for the formulation and recommendation of public policies for peacebuilding, development, conflict resolution, transitional justice and demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) programs.
During her professional career she has had the opportunity to work in different organizations in different sectors. Like the Ideas for Peace Foundation (FIP), one of the most recognized think tanks in Colombia, as a principal researcher in the area of post-conflict and peacebuilding. Continuing her work in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, upon returning her master's degree program in The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, she joined the Colombian Agency for Reintegration (ACR), today the Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN), as Coordinator of Private Sector and Strategic Alliances, as well as advising the Director. Her main functions were to coordinate public-private partnerships (PPPs) between the ACR and strategic allies with the aim of promoting the principle of co-responsibility, designing and implementing strategies of participation in the process of peacebuilding and post-conflict.
Also, she had the opportunity to work in the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation, APC-Colombia as advisor to the general director and as Coordinator of strategic alliances and private sector.
Presently she is partner and Institutional and Partnerships Director at Movilizatorio, promoting the strategic alliances necessary to achieve social transformation and support all processes with her knowledge and experience in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and development.
Partner - Project and Strategy Director, Movilizatorio
Lina is the Project Director of Movilizatorio and leads the processes of research and methodological development of the organization. Her passion for innovation and social impact has led her work on the design and evaluation of public policies at the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, the Department for Social Prosperity, the Victims Unit and the Economic Development Secretariat of Bogotá. She has also worked on research and monitoring projects in United Nations Agencies such as OCHA and UNICEF. In addition, Lina has worked on the creation of communication and training strategies for rural communities in Colombia and ethnic groups in Myanmar, Mesoamerica and Indonesia.
Throughout her 9 years of professional career, Lina has participated in different processes of research and project management for the construction of peace and well-being of families in extreme poverty, ethnic groups, children and adolescents and victims of the armed conflict in Colombia. Taking creativity as a transversal axis in her projects, Lina has encouraged the creation of spaces for innovation within the public sector and the creation of tools to measure, evaluate and promote the exchange of knowledge and best practices.
At Movilizatorio, Lina has worked on the design of projects, the development of the Avispero platform and the creation of creative content, research documents, workshops and strategies for social mobilization with partners such as Purpose, the Corona Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Swedish Cooperation Agency. Lina holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Columbia University (2017), a double undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Political Science (2009), and a Specialization in Economics from Universidad de los Andes (2015). She is fluent in English and Spanish.
Juliana Uribe is a Colombian woman who lives at the intersection of social innovation, the digital age, and international relations, as a social entrepreneur, activist and consultant. In 2016 she founded Movilizatorio, a citizen engagement and social innovation Lab for Colombia and Latin America. In Movilizatorio, Juliana and her team combine strategy, communications, technology, partnerships and research tools to mobilize citizens and key stakeholders with the objective of strengthening collective leadership as an engine for social transformation. Movilizatoriós projects include El Avispero, a network of +125,000 change makers in Colombia.
During the covid 19 crisis, Juliana led the mobilization and communications strategy of Colombia Cares for Colombia, an alliance of more than 400 civil society organizations with the aim of mitigating the negative impact of COVID19. This alliance distributed more than 22 million kilos of food, benefiting 1.7 million people in vulnerable conditions in more than 158 municipalities in the country.
In 2021, Juliana was chosen as a fellow of Acumen, where she is participating currently. In 2020, Juliana was chosen by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Wom-En Com Foundation as one of the 30 most influential young women in Colombian politics. Also, she was chosen by Semana magazine for the prize “Women who inspire” in 2014.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, Juliana was part of the Purpose Campaigns team, from where she advised on global mobilization strategies organizations such as Hewlett Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and Ikea Foundation, among others. She was also consultant for FTI Consulting and Compartamos con Colombia and was part for more than 6 years of the public sector in Colombia.
Juliana has a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University and a Cum Laude Master's degree in International Business from the University of Barcelona.
Latin America Lead, International Resource for Impact and Storytelling
Graciela is a journalist who has been exploring multiple ways to tell stories to foster social justice. She has a specialization in gender and local development and a master’s degree in communication and culture from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Graciela is based in Brazil and is proud of being a pioneer woman in the field of Internet and digital rights in the country.
From 2013 to 2021, as a Senior Program Officer with the Ford Foundation, Graciela developed strategies and programs in the areas of Technology and Society, Creativity and Freedom of Expression, and Civic Engagement and Governance, crosscutting gender and race perspectives. Her work has contributed to consolidating the field of digital rights in Brazil and to bolster the independent investigative journalism ecosystem. She has also worked to strengthen collaboration between arts and culture initiatives with social justice and socio-environmental organizations.
Founding Director, International Resource for Impact and Storytelling
Cara Mertes champions cinematic artists as leaders in society. Harnessing the power of cultural expression to support communities, policies and priorities rooted in dignity and justice, she is currently founder of the International Resource for Impact and Storytelling (IRIS), a new donor collaborative working internationally at the intersection of civic innovation, creative storytelling and narrative strategies. As Director at Ford Foundation (JustFilms), Sundance Institute (DFP) and as EP of P.O.V. on PBS, Mertes oversaw funding for hundreds of documentaries and envisioned a global network of independent film hubs. At Sundance, she co-created Stories of Change (Skoll Foundation) and co-founded Good Pitch (DocSociety). At POV, she received Emmy, duPont Columbia 's and a Webby Award for her original web series, POV’s Borders. Awarded Doc NYC Career, Doc Mogul and IDA Pioneer Award among others, degrees are from Vassar College, Hunter College and Harvard Business School’s OPM.
