Lana: Glad to be with you, Spiffy! Toxicity on social media permits some of us to let loose our worst instincts. This negatively impacts the well-being of the people we rely on to lead and progress our communities. This results in “digital repression,” which challenges our democracy and society by silencing marginalized voices online. Areto Labs was created to fix this problem. Our technology creates safe and welcoming online communities using machine learning to track, moderate, and counteract social media abuse.
Jasmin: Glad to be with you, Spiffy! Our goal is to tackle multiple challenges, leading with increasing access to arts and culture programming for Detroit youth and low-income residents. Like others, the arts and culture sector has deeply rooted racial equity gaps. Considering that Detroit’s population is majority African American and about 33% of the city’s population lives in poverty, it is crucial that we work to increase racial equity while decreasing financial barriers for Detroiters. Also, representation matters, and it’s important that people of color, especially youth, see themselves within all facets of art—on stages, in paintings, in stories, and leading museums.
Tolu: Glad to be with you, Spiffy! My organization’s name, Lions Write, comes from my favorite African proverb: “Until the lion learns to write, all the stories will glorify the hunter.” We believe that those directly affected by the problems we want to solve must be active participants in the process. We partner with corporations, governments, and non-profits to develop innovative solutions that are grounded in reality and promote a sense of pride within affected communities. Our work focuses on migration, education, technology, and climate change.
