Instituto Update
Instituto Update describes itself as "the missing infrastructure for the democracy we want" — a regional platform for political innovation and imagination in the Global South. Its focus is on expanding political participation for women who are underrepresented in conventional democratic institutions: Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQIA+ women, particularly in Latin America and increasingly in Africa.
The organisation runs three flagship programmes. Conecta Latinas is a rhizomatic network of Black, Indigenous, and LBTIQ+ women leaders across Latin America and the Caribbean (with a bridge to Africa), building collective power for shared visibility, collaboration, and political advocacy. Im.pulsa is an open learning platform and community for diverse women to enter and stay in institutional politics — a practical response to the representation gap. Mulheres em Diálogo builds bridges across ideological divides among women's groups to advance a shared pro-rights agenda through research and communication.
Instituto Update also produces mappings of political innovation initiatives across Latin America and Africa and publishes a newsletter on "the magical realism of Latin American politics." It is not a deliberative democracy organisation in the citizens'-assembly sense — it works at the level of who gets to be at the table in the first place, treating representation not as a settled fact but as a design problem.
Links
- Website: institutoupdate.org.br
See also
History
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2018-01-01
Founded in São Paulo as a regional platform for political innovation and imagination in the Global SouthFounding of the organisation
Sourcing: High
O Instituto Update é uma organização liderada por mulheres que trabalha para transformar democracias incompletas em sistemas participativos que promovem o bem viver para todas as pessoas.
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2025-05-22–2025-05-25
Hosted the first Conecta Latinas international gathering in Recife, drawing ~200 leaders from 20+ countriesFirst edition of the flagship Conecta Latinas gathering
Sourcing: High
Desta quinta-feira, 22 de maio, até domingo, dia 25, o Recife será palco do Conecta Latinas, um encontro internacional que reunirá aproximadamente 200 mulheres negras, indígenas e LGBTQIA+ de mais de 20 países da América Latina e Caribe. ... Promovido pelo Instituto Update em parceria com 12 organizações internacionais
Translation: "From this Thursday, 22 May, until Sunday, 25 May, Recife will host Conecta Latinas, an international gathering bringing together approximately 200 Black, Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ women from more than 20 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. ... Promoted by Instituto Update in partnership with 12 international organisations." Also launched the first Mapeamento (mapping) of political-leadership support initiatives across Latin America, identifying 207 initiatives, produced with the Better Politics Foundation.
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