editorial director, digital content strategist, journalist
Recently I spearheaded the launch of two new sites, the redesign of the Audacious Project website, and the first digital iteration of our annual report.
Collaborating on this project with the talented team at Whiteboard was such fun and it’s been a thrill to have a beautiful new home for the initiative to showcase stories about so many important issues I care about.
Check out Whiteboard’s case study on the project.
The idea is to bring together a change-maker/ activist and an influencer with a passion for a particular social issue to discuss innovative ideas and strategies to address it. Our first one was a climate conversation featuring James Bond star Pierce Brosnan and Audacious Project leader Dr. Heidi Sosik of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Recently we hosted Top Chef host and activist Padma Lakshmi in conversation with World Central Kitchen founder Chef José Andrés.
I’m excited to see the series grow and super proud to be leading a project that has seen so many people engaging with important global issues in an accessible and entertaining way.
I can’t believe that I have been working at TED as the Editorial Director of The Audacious Project for almost a year now! It’s been an exhilarating ride figuring out ways to amplify the work of the extraordinary social impact organizations funded through this initiative.
Each year the announcement of the funded projects happens during the annual TED conference in Vancouver, and it’s always a much-anticipated highlight of the week. So when it became clear that due to COVID, we couldn’t have an in-person event, it was decided that we would pivot to an 8-week online experience. This was pretty daunting for the whole organization. Having to convert an event designed for the live stage (one of the most famous in the world) into a compelling online program is no joke!
Luckily for the Audacious team, we had some digital-friendly content already in the bag, because pre lockdowns I had traveled to Rwanda and Kenya to shoot two mini-documentaries highlighting the work of Audacious grantees. Both ended up being selected for the mainstage session at TED2020 held virtually in June!
One of the videos features SNHU’s GEM program, which provides access to Bachelor’s degrees to refugees. Spending time with Saida, a refugee student from Kakuma camp in Kenya, and sharing her story and those of many other displaced communities was life-changing.
The story is now up on TED.com, and I couldn’t be prouder to share it. Check it out here.
It’s been a busy few months at Girl Effect for me. I got promoted (yay me) and now lead content strategy across the organization. We also rolled out the first social campaign for the Nutrition International project and most exciting we launched my passion project for the last few months Big Sis, Girl Effect’s first ever chatbot!
Big Sis uses guided conversation to answer girls’ questions about sexual health. Girls are guided through entertaining, informative content with quizzes (you know I had to have quizzes), to test their knowledge on sex, sexuality, contraception, and relationships.
Learn more about the iterative User Centered Design process we employed to build Big Sis here.
We recently showcased our pioneering girl to experts at the Global Digital Health Forum in Washington DC. The forum is the leading networking event for global public and digital health experts from more than 100 countries.
Today, Girl Effect’s #Springster team showcased Big Sis – a chatbot answering girls’ questions about sexual health at the Global Digital Health Forum in Washington DC.
Learn more: https://t.co/dhX9Y2pbGc #GDHF2018 #DigitalHealth #ICT4D pic.twitter.com/buzajLk8Mx— Girl Effect (@girleffect) December 10, 2018
Last week I hosted a breakfast panel launching Girl Effect and Vodafone Foundation’s #girlsandmobile research to the development community! The event was a preview of one of the biggest studies ever conducted on girls and mobile. Later that day I had the pleasure of participating in the public launch at the Social Good Summit, where 16-year old filmmaker Zuriel Oduwole introduced the report with a fantastic presentation that had us all on our feet!
Our insights and evidence colleagues worked very hard on this, so well done team!
Less than a year after launching as a global brand Springster has landed, it’s first big donor partnership. Over the next two years, we will be working with the amazing Canadian non-profit Nutrition international to target malnutrition among adolescent girls in Indonesia using our thriving mobile community.
We all gathered at the Canadian Embassy recently for the launch of the partnership
(yeah that’s me in the red listening intently to our CEO Farah’s speech….hi mom)
Read more about the event here and you can watch our super cute video that gives an overview of the work we’re doing below.
I spoke at the 2018 International Social and Behavior Change Communication Summit exploring the thorny oxymorons that the development sector routinely wrestles with as it integrates digital platforms into behavior change work.
The panel was moderated by Laura Baringer, Senior Manager Girls Connect (Girl Effect) and included Kecia Bertermann, Senior Manager Evidence, Girl Effect, Linda Raftree, Independent Consultant, and Samantha Jackson, Managing Director, Percolate Galactic
We discussed how we can we both enable greater voice and participation while still ensuring that we are protecting young people and their privacy. We shared how on Springster we collect the data needed to be able to adapt platforms and content to users needs and interests while minimizing the data we collect, so that we are respecting privacy and reducing the potential for data breaches. We also explored how we use our data to understand the contribution of mobile and online platforms to behavior change whilst complying with privacy laws and regulations.
The secret to content that connects with girls? Listening to what they care about and creating platforms that move with them. I wrote this piece about how we at Girl Effect approach our content development process and the key to connecting with girls in authentic and impactful ways. Read more…
After 2 and half years as the digital content mama on Girl Effect Mobile (GEM) working with the amazing media non-profit Girl Effect, I’m excited to finally be able to reveal our new rebrand as global girls digital brand Springster!
We traveled to 5 countries to talk to girls about what they wanted from GEM and girls told us they wanted to be part of something, as well as support and celebrate each other. We listened and responded with Springster, a brand that aims to build a community-focused identity and attitude, celebrating the diverse, inspirational and convention-defying experiences of all girls.
The branding is beautiful and it was an amazing collaborating with the incredible team at Design Studio in London. But it’s not just our new illustrations (all done by an amazing female team we handpicked from almost every corner of the world) and fun UX that made this an amazing project for me, it was seeing how we’ve grown and evolved and learned with girls to bring them an even better version of our platforms. I have to give us all a pat on the back… we did good!
You can learn more about Springster in our factsheet
We hooked up with Youtube to create a ten-episode web series for Springster Indonesia!
The show adapted some of our most popular on-site content into a fun, conversational format covering everything from a takedown of catcalling culture to tips on preparing for job interviews, to a light-hearted deconstruction of harmful period myths.
The series was hosted by an inspiring group of young female influencers including actress and pop sensation Sheryl Sheinafia.
Thanks to our incredible Indonesian creative team Percolate Galatic we were able to secure some of Asia’s coolest creative talent including award-winning director and filmmaker Lucky Kuswandi, and we even scored a jingle by rising 18-year-old Indonesian singer-songwriter Heidi Nasution!
khwezi magwaza 