Priscila Bellini

The big picture Twenty years ago, Recife had a problem. The capital of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco was slowly, unexpectedly, becoming an IT powerhouse. Boosted by top-notch classes at the large federal university in Pernambuco, the state had the highest number of computer scientists per capita in the country. But every year, hundreds of those scientists left the region for high-paying opportunities in São Paulo or overseas. Recife had talent, but it couldn’t keep it.

12 July 2021 #VisibleWikiWomen 2021 has come to an end. In these nearly three months of the campaign, together with our partners and communities, we walked a road full of new challenges, creative ideas, collective and feminist brilliance and dazzling images of women from all over the globe. The Covid-19 global pandemic impacted us, our partners and communities, and  #VisibleWikiWomen in so many ways.

Pascale Elie saw her hometown fall apart from her house in Port-au-Prince. The massive earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 left the capital city in ruins. Elie, an economist who was then working for an insurance company, watched as the financial system collapsed in the wake of the disaster. Over a third of physical branches — long concentrated in the capital city — fell apart overnight. Even though only 10% of residents were account holders, hours-long lines formed around the few remaining banks.