Moved by the lack of structure for women in
Sri Lankan media Blessie Keegel explains why she founded the Women’s Media Collective
Words: Tina Edward Gunawardhana
Photographs: Courtesy of Blessie Keegel
Driven by a fire in her belly, Blessie Keegel is a media personality and a Brand Entrepreneur at Twinery by MAS Innovation. She has notched up 16 years in the media and her dulcet tones on the airways has captivated many an audience. Attracted to the field of media because of the ability to tell a story she has always been drawn to how people have used film, music and art to tell a story or communicate a message. More recently Blessie walked the talk when she set up the Women in Media Collective, an organisation which brings together women in the media under one umbrella.
What prompted you to form the Women in Media collective?
I was having an inspired conversation with a close friend of mine, Tareeq Musafer, (as always) about how the mediascape has been changing and how it has evolved. While having that conversation I realised how many women I was familiar with based on what they’ve written or acted in or presented, but I’ve not had the opportunity of meeting.
That’s when it just clicked - outside of random openings and other social events, there was not really a community or group for us women in media to come together, meet, connect, learn from or find support in.
I did some research online and found a couple of groups out there, but was not able to connect with to be a part of. So, I realised that it was essential to start something just for us - women in media.
I had such a positive response from almost everyone
I connected with! I was so excited about how well it was received, sure there was some scepticism about the whole idea, but I’m used to that.
It’s not been easy to kick off an initiative of this kind with the pandemic - in fact we’ve only managed to meet once and then with lockdowns and Covid safety protocol, we’ve had no physical interaction aside from our inaugural meeting and our ever-buzzing Whatsapp group!
What are your objectives for the organisation?
The idea was to form a group where each of us from different professional and personal backgrounds could draw inspiration from, feel supported by, and ultimately grow in. It has great potential to become a support group and a network for those of us in the Media.
Ideally, the women in this group will come together and contribute their ideas towards this initiative and come up with constructive ways to get the most out of a network like this.
In the long term, the plan is to have various workshops that focus on skills, mindfulness, wellness and lifestyle, introduction to job opportunities, legal advice and importantly networking!
The group is open to women in all forms of media and entertainment PR, Advertising, Visual Media, TV, Radio, Journalism, Singers, Musicians, DJs, Actresses, Presenters, Producers, Writers etc.
I certainly can’t do it on my own, and I need the support of the group to follow through.
