Annick Blaize and Sasha Bellentine, the bubbly hosts of the Songwriting Saves The World podcast, return for a third season of their beyond charming, inclusivity focused podcast series, and our new fave binge-listen!

Following season two with a focus on women behind the scenes in the music industry, season three narrows its focus to queer musicians. Having noticed a clear gap in the representation of women and queer people in the music industry, the two songwriters created Songwriting Saves The World as a means to contribute a platform dedicated to supporting the underrepresented backbone of the music business.

Both @annickblaize and @sashabellentine are songwriters themselves and use their own experience and curiosity as a jumping off point to discuss everything from co-writing and connections to song splits and royalties.

We spoke with the dynamic duo about their passion for uplifting queer and marginalized voices, and why representation in the music industry is profoundly important today:

"Queer people have always been a large presence in music so it makes sense to acknowledge that impact. Representation is really really important and it’s amazing to see more queer artists being themselves and getting celebrated for that! Music relies on stories and varying perspectives and we feel like the more people get to share their stories the more interesting, accepting, and awesome the music industry will be," the hosts said.

Check out our full interview and take a listen to some recent episodes of @songwritingsavestheworld by hitting up the link in our bio! 💗🏳️‍🌈
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#songwritingsavestheworld #podcast #music #queerartists #LGBTQ #womeninmusic #songwriter #queer #representation #story #friday #instagood #best #inclusive

⚡️WOMEN MAKING HISTORY⚡️

Posted @withregram • @unwomen Huge congrats to @maria_ressa who, together with Dmitry Muratov, won the 2021 #NobelPeacePrize! As a journalist, she has used freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, lies and propaganda despite many challenges, including gender-based discrimination, that has made her a target.

Here is more on Maria from @emersoncollective:
Filipino-American journalist and co-founder and CEO of @Rappler @maria_ressa gained international acclaim for her critiques of Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte and his abusive "War on Drugs" campaign. To combat this, Duterte declared Rappler unconstitutional, and tried to shut it down.

In June 2020, Ressa was convicted of cyber-libel and faces up to six years in prison, a ruling that has been condemned by @humanrightswatch, Reporters Without Borders, and @amnesty. Activists fear her imprisonment is a bellwether of the end of press freedom in the Philippines.

Ressa was recognized as a @Time Person of the Year in 2018 as part of a group of international journalists working to combat misinformation. She has become an international ambassador for the fight against online disinformation and press restrictions in the Philippines.

@frontlinepbs’s award-winning documentary @_athousandcuts, directed by @cinediaz, depicts Ressa's journey fighting for press freedom.
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#womenmakinghistory #mariaressa #athousandcuts #documentary #phillipines #freedom #truthtopower #hero

During her short lifetime, Dr. Hindi Krinsky managed to touch the lives and hearts of hundreds within the Long Island and Brooklyn communities. By dedicating herself entirely to her position as teacher of English Literature at a local high school, she inspired a love of literature and an appreciation of reading in every student she taught. Hindi (pictured in the second photo with her family) passed away in 2018 from Crohn's disease, leaving behind a family of 6 and a community of educators and students.

In order to fill the gap left behind by this loss, Dovid Kanarfogel, Hindi’s husband, and Leslie Gang (both pictured in the first photo) a community member and Hindi’s former co-worker, founded @hindislibraries. This organization works to support youth literacy by donating reading materials to children in underserved communities around the world. The goal of Hindi’s Libraries is to give children the opportunity to fall in love with reading outside of their education in memory of Hindi’s ultimate passion.

By collaborating with people and organizations around the world, they have succeeded in donating over 250,000 books to communities spanning across 50 states in the U.S. and 6 different countries.

One of Hindi's former students, Adi Weinberg, has written a touching and heartfelt blog post for us about the impact Hindi left on her as well as countless others through the program created in her honor.

"Hindi taught me to “always keep reading— it will ensure your humanity, your empathy, and your spirit.” The organization strives to honor Hindi’s memory each and every day by giving the gift of literature to children who would not otherwise have access to it," writes Adi.

To learn more about this inspiring legacy and the young children Hindi continues to touch through her passing, head to the link in our bio! 📚📖

#hindislibraries #children #kids #family #literacy #books #legacy #inspire

(All images courtesy of @hindislibraries)

In 2018, Ireland voted in overwhelming numbers to legalize abortion in a historic referendum, after decades of forcing women to travel overseas to get care, and in some tragic circumstances, allowing others to die.

In 2012, when Indian Immigrant Savita Halappanavar was experiencing a miscarriage at 17 weeks, she was denied a lifesaving abortion because the hospital told her it was a "Catholic country". She died, and as a result, the country was galvanized into action.

One activist, Ailbhe Smyth, had been fighting for abortion access and rights since the 8th amendment was introduced in 1983, and in 2018 became one of the leaders of the movement to Repeal the 8th. Her powerful story is featured in filmmaker Aideen Kane's documentary @the8thfilm, which also features an emotional interview with Savita's husband about what his wife suffered through.

Can Ireland, a predominantly conservative Catholic country, be a roadmap for what can happen here in the US, as we stare down the barrel of the Supreme Court potentially overturning Roe v Wade with a new case they are set to hear starting Dec 1st (Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization)?

On Thursday, Oct 14th our founder @ashadahya will be moderating a convo for @reprofilmfest (we’re the media sponsors!) with The 8th director Aideen Kane and activist @ailbhedub about the film and what it looks like to be part of a movement organized to fight for not only abortion access, but also gender equality.

Head to www.reprofilmfest.com to get your free tickets, which also allow you to watch the full film.
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Shoutout to programming partners @futureoffilmisfemale, @PeaceisLoud, and @vidiots.

#repeal #the8thfilm #Ireland #abortion #genderequality #aideenkane #Ailbhesmyth #reprorights #womensrights #activist #movement #instagood #best #film