Relatos Esmeraldenos

The digital platform Relatos Esmeraldeños is a journalistic project committed to giving visibility to vulnerable populations in the province of Esmeraldas, in northern Ecuador. Its focus is on interculturality, gastronomy, knowledge and social inequalities of Afro-Ecuadorians, indigenous people, refugees and people with disabilities. It is an independent medium focused on cultural and community journalism, with a narrative of strengthening the sense of belonging and opposed to the silencing that traditional media carries out on peoples and nationalities. It has received international recognition, such as grants from SembraMedia, the United States Embassy in Ecuador and Google News Initiative between 2021 and 2022. The objective of the medium is innovation in showing people as they are, without prejudice, with respect, dignity and inclusion. Social networks and websites are the spaces to tell your stories. Their voices, gestures, silences, protection of nature and life itself, allow us to strengthen the sense of belonging in the local community and in the Region. Thanks to them, the medium received an international mentorship (Argentina) to be a Strategic Consultant for digital media, which allows it to improve the inclusive narrative and help those who seek to say, respectfully, what many traditional media secrete.