HFPA Grantee

They are between 14-22 and have covered the Democratic National Convention, the Women’s March and yes, the Golden Globes. They are young women from under-served communities that find empowerment and on-the-job training in digital journalism and media to bring their powerful perspectives to the global media stage. Global Girl Media has outposts worldwide: in the UK, Morocco, South Africa, Kosovo, Chicago, the Bay Area and Los Angeles where it was founded in 2010. From politics to entertainment, women’s rights and human rights, arts & culture to health & environment, the students make documentaries, hard-news segments, blogs and everything else that falls under the media banner.

Their own stories are as powerful as the stories they cover: “I remember my mom, she was always in the kitchen, always looking down whenever my dad would get mad at her. That’s how pretty much my whole life was until I interned at Global Girl Media. This program changed my life completely.” said Wendy Garcia, who in 2015 did a doc on teen pregnancy and won 2^nd place at Harvard. All over the world, these girls conquer their own difficult environments to rise above the set of circumstances they were born into and often choose professions that are still considered ‘male jobs’ like cinematography and technology.

“Global Girl Media has opened so many doors for me. It has shown me that my voice is important and that my voice needs to be heard. That as a woman, as an African American woman I have something to say.”, said Imani Crenshaw, who in 2013 won The National Association of Black Journalists’ Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism for the webisode series, ‘Como Amar/How to Love”, which she did as reporter and producer for Global Girl Media. Now 24, she is a broadcast journalist at WHOV-News Television.

GMM Executive Director Amie Williams has worked as a documentary filmmaker all over the world. She recognized years ago that there were not enough women and specifically women of color in these professions. This is why she co-founded the organization to promote freedom of expression and strengthen substantive journalism that addresses historically marginalized voices while building self-esteem, leadership capacity, and 21st-century skills.

This year’s Golden Globe Ambassador, Simone Johnson, chose GMM as her HFPA Grantee to partner with during her yearlong term.

To see more, visit: http://globalgirlmedia.org