CLEVELAND — An annual pitch competition is gearing up to bring creators in Cleveland together and share ideas on how to make the region stronger.
It was an exciting day of preparing the new podcast for Jing Lauengco.
“I would say that part of it is just understanding how they want to tell their story, how they want to show up and what they care about,” Lauengco explained.
A native of the Philippines, she’s bringing stories like hers to life through “Other Brown Girl,” a digital storytelling platform that creates deeper awareness, understanding and appreciation of multiculturalism.
“There’s a lot of discussion around stories that might not be as accurate about first and second generation immigrant kids, and I wanted to change that narrative or at least start a new one based on our family journey and story,” said Lauengco.
She helped make “Other Brown Girl” a reality through Accelerate: the Cleveland Leadership Center’s annual pitch competition that shares ideas on making Cleveland better. Lauencgo was recovering from cancer when she started taking Literary Cleveland classes, a past Accelerate program, and her idea was born.
“I was in bed recovering, trying to make sense of everything, trying to explain to my half-brown kid what was happening and how we fit into the diversity conversation, and that’s when ‘Other Brown Girl’ really was started, was an idea in my sketchbook, then my Macbook then my iPhone,” she said.
Brittany O’Connor and Citizens Bank are partners for the event and hope to motivate a new round of ideas.
“I hope that people will be inspired by all of the care that’s put into the pitches, that they’ll be inspired to make their own difference in the community, and be inspired to share their ideas when we call for pitches this fall,” said O’Connor.
And for Lauengco, she hopes for more to have an experience that won’t just improve their lives, but also others.
“It has changed my life I would say in so many ways and Accelerate in general, just so many ideas were born and brought to light,” said Lauengco.
