Portuguese online platform Bantumen, an information platform linked to people from black communities, is participating in a web summit in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro to bring together people of African descent from all Portuguese-speaking countries, its founders told Lusa.
The project, which materializes in an online magazine, appeared in 2015 with the goal of becoming “an information platform for black communities that are scattered throughout the Portuguese-speaking world and various diasporas,” co-founder Vanessa Sanchez said on the sidelines. participation in the technology event, which will last until this Thursday in the “wonderful city”.
The idea came from a lack of information about the black community, which follows “paths of excellence in various fields” but does not have a voice in traditional media, he explained.
“The project, which is more than an online magazine, has become a cultural platform, for example in creating bridges at festivals to open the doors to more diverse artists,” explained Vanessa Sanchez.
“Today we can already relate to PALOP” [Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa]emphasized the Portuguese of African descent, saying that the mission now is to “try to burst the bubble in Brazil.”
“Our audience here has grown enormously, and this bubble is growing for one reason: Brazilian people of African descent have a need to identify, to understand their roots,” he explained, immediately answering that “those roots come from Africa.” more precisely from PALOP.
“It’s easy for them to identify with what we create,” defended the co-founder, whose platform has been a guest partner of Web Summit for four years, both in Lisbon and in Brazil.
This identification motivated Bantumen to create more and more content about Brazilian people of African descent.
Eddie Pipocas, an Angolan and African-born co-founder living in Portugal, told Lusa that the platform is based in Portugal but already has employees in almost all PALOP countries and in Brazil.
Regarding the reception they felt at the web summit, Vanessa Sanchez, who moderated two sessions at the event (“The Essence of the Global South: Growth as a Benchmark for Innovation, Culture and Technology” and “The Role of Technology in Promoting and Preserving Afro-Descendant Culture”) felt , that he received “a lot of information about what Brazil is doing.”
But, on the other hand, he noticed some lack of awareness on the Brazilian side.
“They are completely unaware of this Lusophone universe,” he said, feeling that through greater partnership they could help Brazil understand its roots.
According to Riocentro, Barra da Tijuca hosted more than 30 thousand participants from at least 100 countries, more than a thousand “start-ups”, about 600 investors and 600 speakers in a structure supported by more than 210 partners and 400 volunteers. with the organization of the event, which began on Monday and ends today.
On the Portuguese side, 31 startups are registered, related in particular to the areas of software solutions, metaverse, artificial intelligence and blockchain, with record participation.
The technology event, which began in 2010 in Ireland, began taking place in the Parc des Nations area of Lisbon in 2016 and will remain in the Portuguese capital until 2028.
The company also expanded beyond Rio de Janeiro into the Middle East with a web summit in Qatar that took place in early 2024.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.