TIANA VILAR LINS – WOMEN’S DAY
Tiana Vilar Lins joined Womanity in 2014 and runs its WomenChangemakers Program in Brazil, helping social entrepreneurs to become catalysts of social and systemic change, by empowering women within their communities.
Womanity: Who are you Tiana?
Tiana Vilar Lins: I am a searcher, an unquiet person trying to release my potential as a human being and influence others to do the same. Womenchangemakers (WCM) Program’s purpose, in my perspective, is aligned with what I want to do in my professional environment as it supports Fellows and their social organizations to fulfill their mission and increase their social impact. Besides that, the organizations that we support are focused on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and that is an extremely relevant field these days.
Womanity: What question comes to mind about Women Changemakers?
TVL: The WCM Program provides support around the institutional development of areas that are key to enhance the growth of their social impact.
At this moment, one of the questions arising is: “How can we influence other investors (foundations, institutions) to understand the relevance of investing in institutional development, and not just funding projects?”
Womanity: What does it mean to be a Woman Changemaker at the moment in Brazil?
TVL: We are experiencing a very unstable political, social and economic scenario in which I feel a great part of the population does not know how (or does not know how to find energy) to stand up for their rights. So to be a Changemaker in Brazil at this moment means to gather forces to continue our works towards a more egalitarian, generous and peaceful environment; it means to believe that the people will find a way to recover their strengths and stand up for a better country.
Womanity: What question these social entrepreneurs rarely ask themselves you wished they did?
TVL: How I can have a more balanced life taking care of myself while being a social entrepreneur?
Womanity: What would be a breakthrough for women in social enterprise in Brazil, for them to be impactful and accelerate change?
TVL: Move towards a more collaborative practice.
Womanity: What do you think is the impact of Womanity in the lives of women in Brazil and what have your learnt from it that you are applying to your own life?
TVL: The WCM Program has the power of tackling issues that almost no investor is paying attention to, which is the organizational development. When doing that, not only the social entrepreneurs but also their whole team feel that they have someone to count on, someone looking into their challenges and willing to support them. This is a true partnership. And it´s when organizations and people open up to questioning their practices and evolving, that it is impacting upon the institution itself and all its relations with beneficiaries, and partners.