Awasqa is a digital platform that seeks to democratize the media through a collaborative network with indigenous and environmental movements and organizations through the continent, Abya Yala. We seek to generate a free space for publication, and translation, to recognize the diversity of languages and forms of communication, breaking language barriers in order to promote linguistic justice and participatory communication.
By articulating an international network of community journalists and communicators, we seek to promtote support for and reflection on urgent issues for social and environmental justice. Our principle is to provide a safer communication space, away from corporate-owned social media, led by a community of trusted editors, thus becoming an alternative to the way in which indigenous and environmental organizations and communities in Latin America share their stories of hope and resistance.
Awasqa seeks to celebrate the convergence of knowledge, struggles, resistance, reflections, projects, and worldviews that emerge from indigenous movements and organizations in response to the onslaught of imperialism and the monopolization of communication.
We are community journalists and communicators with a life commitment to support the struggle against colonialism and predatory capitalism.
Our dream is to democratize the media by building a continental indigenous communications network where Awasqa can serve as a tool or portal to break (colonial) language barriers and allow for shared information across borders.
Our main goal is to make the work of indigenous community journalists, communications organizations, and social movements visible.
Financial Transparency
Awasqa begun as a volunteer-run pilot project at the end of 2018 and continues today to run mostly based on volunteer work. In 2023, we decided against building a nonprofit organization based in the United States (which would require at least $1 million to run smoothly), and instead rethink Awasqa as a tool to build the capacity of new generations of community journalists.
As of 2023, we had $30K in our bank (thanks to a grant from Swift Foundation), which we invested to build a new web site, giving folks the ability to open an account and post their own news. The rest of the funds, we decided to invest in our Awasqa Youth Scholars Program, to provide resources, mentorship, and free English translation. Authors rights remain with our youth writers, to make sure they can promote their work elsewhere.
Team
Citlalli Andrango Cadena is Awasqa’s part-time Communications Associate. She is a Kichwa film producer and cultural manager. She is a producer of AylluRec Films and is part of the artistic collective HUMAZAPAS. She was the producer of the feature film HUAHUA 2018. Producer of the community film training project HUMAZAPAS 2022 and the feature film project “VACACIONES” (POSTPRODUCTION). She is also the producer of the feature film Docufiction AKCHA SAPI (currently under development).
Sofía Jarrín is Awasqa’s co-founder and editor/translator. Self-trained as a community journalist and radio producer since 2004, I covered many events and protests for Indymedia, WMBR at MIT, Pacifica Radio, ALER in Ecuador, among others. My articles have been published in alternatives news media such as Z Magazine, Dollars & Sense, TruthOut.org, Democracy Now!, and NPR World. My work at Awasqa is mostly volunteer, and I am a full-time academic translator/copy editor.
Donate
If you are interested in supporting our work and/or our Awasqa Youth Scholar program, please consider donating here. Allied Media Projects is our fiscal sponsor and what makes this project a reality. They help us, for a small yearly fee, administer our contracts and funds, keep our financial books straight, provide scholars their funds for research/writing, and fundraise. We could not do this work without them!