The Great Leveler: a 3-day blitzkrieg against my own fears
The A-HA moment
I was dressed like a 1950s version of Cinderella, hairdo and all. And I honestly did feel like a princess, we all did. The lights were so bright on stage I couldn’t see most of the 900 attendees, I barely saw Christiana Figueres and Sandra Cauffman at the box seats. The host was about to announce the final grand prize: Best Innovative Project, awarded by Intel. Whoever won that would get the chance to develop her project further with the help of Intel’s Innovation Center in Costa Rica.
-“And the winner is…Innovation Center”, said the host at first.
-“What the…”, we all thought.
-“Wait, no, the award goes to Machi Brenes!”, he corrected.
-“Huh?”, the uncertainty rose in our minds.
-“I’m sorry, the winner is Gabriela Brenes, with the project Machi! Congratulations!”
It took me a bit to realize it was my name. I now know what the phrase “sobbing like a Tony Award winner” means.
The mind-bending triathlon
Last week 20 female-led innovative projects were chosen to be part of the first “LAB Nosotras Lideresas” (Us Women Leaders Lab) in Costa Rica. Powered by Fábrica de Historias, this 3-day event gathered women from different parts of the country to receive mentoring from outstanding female leaders in storytelling, project funding, networking, entrepreneurship, pitching project ideas, leadership and technology.
Based on our performance during this lab and the final pitch of our projects, some women would receive further coaching by Voces Vitales, one would get a new logo and visual guide by U Creativa, and one woman would have the opportunity to advance her project through Intel’s Innovation Center. Jury included leadership specialist Dr. Deidre Combs, NASA scientist Sandra Cauffman, Nosotras’ Director Marysela Zamora, Community Solutions’ fellow Selenia Rodríguez, and representatives from Voces Vitales and Intel.
Our VR project Machi won the award for Best Innovative Project, bestowed upon by Intel Costa Rica. This award allows us to work closely with the Intel Innovation Center and advance the field of immersive storytelling through in-depth tech exploration. In Machi, we design VR experiences to assist patients who must endure long-lasting in-hospital treatments, such as chemotherapy and dialysis. Through VR we help shift their focus of attention, thus reducing stress, anxiety and even the intake of painkillers.
Thanks to the mentoring process of Nosotras Women Connecting, and under the wing of Intel’s Innovation Center, we’ll now be able to take this VR project to a new level, produce groundbreaking medical and technological research, and impact hundreds of patients and storytellers in Costa Rica.
The Self-Conflict Zone
A true learning experience can only take place outside your comfort zone. Here are a few lessons I’d like to share:
Brené Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection): “Somehow we’ve come to equate success with not needing anyone”
Truly successful people are empowered and seem providentially resourceful. Yet we often make it a habit to highlight that one person, the one goal, and overlook the whole process. Serendipity feeds off your own drive to add value through your job and make a change. Empowerment though, that is necessarily nurtured by community and a sense of purpose.
The best leaders I’ve known are not the ones who seek to master every single talent, but the ones who know themselves well enough to build a team that completes them and fosters their vision.
Sandra Cauffman: “I would not let my thinking become my obstacle”.
An idea that never comes to life is as if it had never existed. And more often than not, we inflict on ourselves the kind of judgement and sabotage we would never even tolerate from other people. A mindset that embraces creative confidence can’t thrive in a pool of self-doubt and prejudice, just as ego and sorority can never be part of the same equation.
monika bielskyte: “Our work is never just entertainment or marketing or science or technology, we are, in fact, creating culture.”
We have a certain heroic expectation of how innovation works. As sensual as bright new technology might appear to our geeky eyes, if it’s providing a user experience rather than a human experience, if it’s a virtual reality rather than a shared reality, if it’s an internet of things rather than an internet of beings…it’s pointless. (see Audrey Tang 唐鳳).
We are also creating culture with the spaces in which we choose to employ our technology. As a woman, and especially as a journalist, I would never expect to be part of a space like Intel’s Innovation Center. But as monika bielskyte writes: “we start building future by thinking future”. Redefining prosperity towards an uncertain future requires we embed inclusion and transdisciplinary collaboration into our daily framework.
The results of such mindsets are palpable: Machi is not just about VR, it’s about addressing the needs of a broad spectrum of our population and enriching human interactions by means of the technology available. Nosotras wasn’t just a conference by women for women, it was a place designed to harness solidarity between genders towards the shared future of a country.
Culturally speaking, this experience was ultimately a great leveler, where individuals and organizations, men and women, we all realized that change can only come if we work together.
Thank you notes
Gratitude never goes out of style, so I’d like to extend my deepest gratitude to:
- The team at Ñoño (Gonzalo Sierra, Gia Castello, Martiniano Caballieri and Julieta Piñeiro), Wingu and Donde Quiero Estar, an amazing crew who keep redefining what’s possible every day.
- A huge thank you to the outstanding women who were part of Nosotras LAB, your work sets the bar for the future of our country
- Marysela Zamora, Deidre Combs, Selenia Rodríguez, Sandra Cauffman and all mentors and special guests of Nosotras Women Connecting, for pushing us to unlock our potential.
- Mariana Santos, Vicki Hammerstedt and the Chicas Poderosas network ❤
- And a special thank you to monika bielskyte, Robert Hernandez and Kevin Tsukii for taking my immersive mindset to a whole new level.
