Third edition of WIN Latam – Women in the News – brings together 30 professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean

The WAN-IFRA Leadership Accelerator focuses on leadership and career development. It uses training, coaching, mentoring and networking to enable participants to reach their full potential and take on the challenges facing the media industry.

The announcement was made during the fifth edition of WAN-IFRA's LATAM Media Leaders Summit 2024, on 17 September, in Bogota, Colombia.

The 30 media professionals, selected from among 100 applicants, who are developing their careers in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, were there.

"For WAN-IFRA it is a pleasure to launch the third edition of Women in News/WIN Latam, together with the Google News Initiative, to whom we are especially grateful for their support for the continuity of this programme in the region. This initiative, focused on supporting the professional development of women executives in Latin American media companies, is based on the experience and knowledge acquired during more than 12 years of training women media leaders in the WAN-IFRA Women in News Programme worldwide. It will be a new opportunity, after our great experience in the previous two years, to accompany these future leaders in the process of professional growth, providing them with spaces for inspiration, knowledge and updating in the use of new tools," said Olga Britto, Director Ibero-America at WAN-IFRA.

The professionals selected to participate in the third edition of WIN LATAM are:Massiel De Jesús Acosta (El Dinero/Dominican Republic), María Fernanda Alonso (TN/Argentina), Clara Balbi Rodriguez da Costa (Folha de São Pablo/Brazil), Xóchitl Bárcenas Armendáriz (El Sol/Mexico), Mandy Barrios Soca (Búsqueda/Uruguay), Romina Cáceres Morales (El Surtidor/Paraguay), Yannina Carrillo (El Pitazo/Venezuela), Mariana Cianelli (La Diaria/Uruguay), Mayte Ciriaco Ruiz (El Comercio/Perú), Alejandra Fernández Guida (Clarín/Argentina), Florencia Fernández Blanco (La Nación/Argentina), Maria Belén Fourment (El País/Uruguay), Ivonne Gaibor Flor (Primicias/Ecuador), Betty Jumbo (El Comercio/Ecuador), Gina Justiniano (El Deber/Bolivia), Andrea Cristina Lopez Serra (La República/Peru), Margaret López (Efecto Cocuyo/Venezuela), María Pía Mesa Tellagorry (El Observador/Uruguay), Herminia Miranda Carreón (Animal Político/Mexico), Paola Piquer (Grupo América/Argentina), Carolina del Carmen Pichardo (Listín/Dominican Republic), Ana Cristina Ramírez Granados (Costa Rica/Repretel), Angélica Lagos (El Espectador/Colombia), Juliana Rodríguez Salvador (La Voz/Argentina),Claudia Roura (Ecuavisa/Ecuador), Teresa Solís de la Rocha (Debate/Mexico), Reyna Vallecillo (Entrepatrias/Nicaragua), Gisele Silva (Estadão/Brazil), Elia Simeone (Prensa Austral/Chile), and Adriana Torres (El Tiempo/Colombia).

"The Google News Initiative is pleased to continue our collaboration with WAN-IFRA in the WIN Latam programme, empowering women media professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean. This initiative aligns with our commitment to promote diversity and inclusion in the news industry, and we believe that supporting women leaders will lead to stronger and more innovative media organisations," said Haydée Bagú, Manager of News Partnerships at Google.

During the WAN-IFRA LATAM Media Leaders Summit 2024,the participants attended several conferences where they analysed the main issues and challenges facing today's industry leaders. They also participated in activities linked to improving key aspects of leadership.

The professionals had the opportunity to share their challenges in a workshop guided and facilitated by the programme's coaches, where they worked on key aspects of decision-making through a series of activities that concluded with the creation and visualisation of a future action plan.

As part of the training sessions, the participants attended the "I am remarkable" workshop, organised by the Women@Google team, which aims to promote diversity and inclusion at work.

The meeting held at Google's facilities in Bogotá, focused on a 90-minute workshop in which participants were taught to recognise the value of self-awareness within their work environments and to reflect on their perceptions in their work and social environments, as well as to strengthen their leadership and self-promotion skills.

At the end of the day, led by the WAN-IFRA team of trainers, the participants had the opportunity to attend a session that included the development of soft skills such as effective time management and conducting smart meetings.

Objectives of the programme

One of the main objectives of the programme is for each participant to be able to design a 3-5-year career plan. The process will be carried out with the support of strategic coaches who, in a personalised way and during seven meetings, will guide them in creating their professional roadmap.

The programme's working methodology also includes developing 10 group training sessions led by industry leaders. Among the areas selected to enhance the professional profile are leadership, product and innovation, team management, artificial intelligence, finance for non-financial managers, management of journalistic companies, change management, marketing and advertising, discrimination and inclusive policies in the media and tackling violence and protocols.

The first edition of WIN LATAM, launched in 2022 and completed in January 2023, achieved significant changes and impacts that allowed participants to reflect on their present and future professional lives, strengthen key aspects of leadership and acquire new ones.

The coaching process within the programme proved to be innovative. Six months after the end of the first edition, 90% of those who went through the training and coaching process continue to work and guide their careers on what was designed in their professional roadmap. And 100% said they will continue to use it as a tool to guide their career decision-making.

ABOUT WAN-IFRA.The World Association of News Publishers, or WAN-IFRA, is the global organisation of the world's press. Our mission is to protect the rights of journalists and editors around the world to operate independent news media. We provide our members with the knowledge and services to innovate and thrive in the digital world and to carry out their crucial role in society. WAN-IFRA's authority comes from its global network of 3,000 news organisations and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy emanates from its 60 media associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries.

WIN (Women in News) has been working for more than 10 years with more than 80 news organisations in 17 countries in three regions, including Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe (WIN Africa); Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine (WIN Arab Region); and Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia (WIN Southeast Asia). The mission of WAN-IFRA's WIN is to increase women's leadership and voices in news by equipping women journalists and editors with the skills, strategies and support networks to assume greater leadership positions within their organisations.

Daniela Bermúdez

[email protected]