gente
pron. / ' jen · ti /
It all begins
with gente.
The generative and imaginative force of people.
Some might know that “gente” means “people” in Portuguese (and a few other languages). But in Brazil, gente also means I, and We. It’s conjugated as a singular person even when it includes a group. It encompasses the person and the people, at the same time. It’s I and it’s We. It’s essentially Us.
In this way, Gente is very similar to what participation is: the fundamental belief that whenever you’re telling a story, you’re creating something new, or you’re making a decision, in some ways it’s not just about You, often it’s about Us.
As it happens, it’s in Portugal and Brazil that we witnessed the power - and importance - of participation. It’s in Portugal that Silvia was confirmed of the wonder that happens when young school kids become the creative force behind the schools they attend. And it’s in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas that Daiana was amazed by the power of storytelling and the value of communities being in charge of their own narratives.
Now Gente is something more. It’s a participation and imagination lab. A space to help you bring people closer to where the decisions are made, to experiment with new ways of building collective visions, and to make participation cool.
Making participation
cool
Gente was born out of the realisation that we are all better off when we can have a say in what matters the most in our lives, and that doing so doesn’t have to be daunting or boring. We want to champion a culture of participation where every person, everywhere, can shape the decisions that affect them, while having fun.
By creating
the space for it
We hold space for people and decision-makers to come together to shape and re-imagine the future, and most importantly the present. We activate participatory and creative processes where individuals and groups are empowered to listen and be listened to. It’s in these moments and spaces, that people are wholly present, collective visions materialise and systems are transformed.
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gente is Silvia
Co-founder
Social innovation, entrepreneurship and education. Silvia is our mover and shaker. From managing impact projects for non-profits and social enterprises, to delivering learning programmes for schools and public sector organisations, Silvia always carries a strong belief in the power of participatory processes. Combining this with a passion for design, she has started a PhD at the University of the Arts London. Through her research, she’s exploring the role that future-oriented and speculative design methodologies can play in fostering young people engagement in education policy design.
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gente is Daiana
Co-founder
Storytelling, community development and creative strategy. Daiana is our creative pocket knife. She has worked at the intersection of the impact and media sectors, crossing paths with a variety of communities: from favelas in Brazil to refugee entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, from sustainability startups in Europe to the United Nations. Guided by empathy and intuition, she’s passionate about creative and participatory methods, and how these can catalyse change by giving back ownership over the narratives and designs that make up our societies.
gente is
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Meaningful participation
We are empowered only when we have a say in the decisions that affect our lives.
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Radical imagination
Imagination fuels change: to build something new, you first need to imagine it.
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Human wholebeing
We leave labels at the door, to welcome the layers that make us whole-beings.
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Daring experimentation
We lead by experiment. We are not always right, but we’re often in sight.
