Project is chosen to take six trans representatives to the event in France.
O OccupyTrans has just been selected by the organization of the International Festival of Creativity Cannes Lions to take six participants to the event, which will be held in June, in France. OcupaTrans is a project that promotes accessibility and participation of transgender people in events and multiple spaces in the Brazilian advertising industry
Chosen from more than 200 submissions from 51 countries by Cannes Lions’ ERA (Equity, Representativeness and Accessibility) Program, OcupaTrans received six festival passes. Now, it is looking for support and sponsorship to finance tickets, transfers, accommodation and food and, therefore, make it possible for selected advertising professionals to go to Cannes.
“All the projects registered are important, but few of them have a transformative impact on the industry like this one”, said Frank Starling, Chief DEI Officer at Cannes Lions, when reporting on the festival having selected OcupaTrans among the hundreds of initiatives registered in the program. of equity, representativeness and accessibility of the event.
With just eight months of operation, OcupaTrans has already enabled the entry of dozens of its participants, trans, transvestite and non-binary people, into the Festival do Clube de Criação and the Festival Whext, both held in São Paulo. Now, with its approval by the Cannes Lions ERA, the goal becomes even more ambitious: taking six people to the festival in France. OcupaTrans has received support and logistical-operational support from the sound production company Pingado Áudio since its launch.
“We continue to create opportunities and ensure the presence, representation and belonging of the Trans community in relevant, renowned and recognized spaces throughout the advertising communications industry. At this moment, we urgently need to continue promoting the inclusion of trans, transvestites and non-binary people in the Brazilian job market and, to this end, we continue to think about practical, lifelong and real solutions. This way, these professionals will also have the opportunity not only to learn and grow, but also to establish meaningful connections with leaders and mentors in the national and international advertising industry”, says Guilhermina de Paula, founder of the OcupaTrans Project.
Guilhermina explains that OcupaTrans asked the Cannes Lions organization, this first time, to register for only six passes, due to the magnitude of the festival and the costs of attending the event.
“As it is the first year, the curation and selection of participants in this edition will be carried out internally, taking into account talents that are standing out in the market. However, our intention is that, in the coming years, when we are more experienced and structured, there will be a wider and more public selection of participants”, he says.
For Lu Novelli, founder and partner of Pingado Áudio, the support and promotion of the OcupaTrans Project is gratifying.
“Helping to provide real opportunities and increase visibility for trans, transvestite and non-binary people beyond commemorative dates and their seasonalities is something we have always been concerned about, as inclusion, belonging, equity, representation and commitment to Diversity is really part of our essence”, he says, explaining the reasons why his production company is a partner in the initiative. In fact, the founder of OcupaTrans, Guilhermina de Paula, is part of the service and executive production team at Pingado Áudio.
Deficient employability
According to data collected by the OcupaTrans Project based on information published by the Brazilian media, in Brazil only 4% of transsexuals have a formal contract. But, according to Guilhermina, “whether through the diversity agenda or through initiatives such as TransEmpregos and now OcupaTrans, there is light ahead”.
The data from the inclusion census in Brazilian agencies in 2023 are even more worrying: “The ODP (Advertising Diversity Observatory) shows that only 1% of trans and transvestite people have formal employment, and there are still no trans and transvestite people in leadership positions.”
According to Guilhermina, this occurs because this population is often expelled from home as children and, as a result, does not have access to education and has to resort to prostitution, pornography and other sub-jobs on the margins of society in order to survive.
“We need to change this scenario and we count on the support not only from companies in the advertising market, but from the entire community. Being able to take our six members to Cannes Lions would be another great victory on this path”, he says.
Contacts
To speak directly to the OcupaTrans Project, you can send an email to [email protected] or message via WhatsApp (via number 55 11 99113-6611).
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