Early 2024 Wins and Updates from PSYDEH
Early 2024 Wins and Updates from PSYDEH
Written by Katie Freund
PSYDEH is off to a running start in 2024! In addition to beginning the third year of our Sierra Madre Network and Tech for All programs, the first months of the new year have been full of one-of-a-kind events and exciting news for PSYDEH and our partners.
Events
To kick off the year, 8 members of the PSYDEH team traveled to Cancun, Mexico, to represent our organization after being selected as the nonprofit partner for Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend Festival. This was an incredible opportunity for PSYDEH team members and our partner cooperatives to share our work with hundreds of festival attendees, and also represented our largest fundraising event to date: through the festival, Looking Out Foundation raised over $43,000 of flexible funding for PSYDEH, and we sold an additional $7,000 in artisan goods from women partners’ cooperatives.
In addition, PSYDEH was featured as a nonprofit partner at the first-ever edition of Mirada Corta, a new short film festival that took place in Mexico City. PSYDEH cooperatives created hand-embroidered tote bags for the event, and the first chapter of our 6-part impact series was featured before a sold-out audience.
Partnerships
At the end of January, valued long-term partner Viasat received news that our collaborative digital inclusion programming was selected for a prestigious Anthem Award, a testament to our ongoing impact-making work towards expanding tech access, use and innovation in rural Mexico. The Anthem Awards celebrate purpose and mission-driven work by companies, individuals, and organizations around the world. Viasat and their LATAM partners—including PSYDEH—received Bronze recognition in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Category for Education or Literacy Program or Platform.
In addition, we are about to begin an exciting design-challenge collaboration with employees at Nintendo, focused on expanding market opportunities for the Sierra Madre Cooperative Network. Facilitated through program partner Team4Tech, a dedicated Nintendo volunteer team will spend 3 days designing new ways to improve cooperative business sales at the national and international level.
In the Field: 2024 Leadership School and Beyond
2024 program work marks the start of the 3rd year of both of our flagship programs: the Sierra Madre Network and Tech for All, with a focus on increased business opportunities for women partner cooperatives, innovation in digital skills and tools, and leadership at the community and regional level. Curriculum work will focus on individualized personal and professional skill development as well as community impact projects.
February saw the implementation of our first-ever fully virtual workshop as well as the development of several other initiatives: Acaxochitlan’s cooperative continues work on an award-funded documentary about the recovery and preservation of a local weaving tradition, multiple cooperatives continue a collaboration with Mexico City-based luxury design company Onora, and the Network begins the development of community impact projects targeting local issues through a new initiative, Sierra Solidaria.
