Australia's newest social app that’s committed to bringing good back to social media and uniting in support of a better world, WeAre8, has today announced that it would support creatives with production services and funding through the launch of a dedicated WeAre8 Creator Fund.
The fund is open to content creators, filmmakers, musicians, and visual artists who are Verified Creators on WeAre8. People can apply for funding and production services valued between $5,000 - $100,000 to bring their creative ideas to life and share new voices and perspectives through short-form video, photography or event based creative projects that can be amplified through content.
The fund is designed to tell untold stories that champion good and align with WeAre8's eight impact areas, including Education, Climate, Poverty, Peace, Equality, Health, Water and Animals. As a social media platform dedicated to giving back and doing good for the community, WeAre8 is passionate about sharing stories that focus on reconnecting citizens with the world around us.
The first recipient of the fund is Sydney-based actor and writer Zufi Emerson, who is on a mission to use her creative work to ensure our screens reflect what's happening on the streets.
Zufi will create five short-form videos featuring leading, but underrepresented artists, who are trailblazers in the creative industries. Each video will explore themes including radical self-acceptance, resilience, stereotypes, adaptability, and courage.
WeAre8 Australia CEO Lizzie Young said, “Since we launched WeAre8 only three months ago we've seen some incredible creativity from our first Australian Verified Creators, with many more looking to align their work with our people and planet-first values. We're now excited to introduce more creators to the platform with the release of the fund.
“A big point of difference with WeAre8's Creator Fund is that we are awarding funds and services based on the quality of the artistic idea and its positive impact on the world rather than people's follower numbers or the number of views their account has.
“Zufi has an eye for exploring topics that are often untold and delivering them in such a breathtaking and authentic way and we know that her work will have a lasting impact on our citizens.”
Zufi Emerson said, “I am thrilled to be collaborating with the team at WeAre8 through their creator fund to the creative arts. It was a no-brainer for me to be on a platform that actively gets to the heart of what social media aims to do; connecting with others and sharing what's going on in our different worlds, which is synonymous with the work I set out to create and contribute to as a filmmaker.
The Creator Fund comes off the back of WeAre8 recently introducing a raft of new product features, including a Friends Feed that is free from ads, algorithms and filters and an integrated Spotify audio feature that allows citizens to add a personal anthem to their account, enhancing the feel-good nature of the platform.
The new Friends Feed extends the content breadth of the platform, empowering all citizens of WeAre8 to contribute content to the App, a function previously reserved for Verified Content Creators. The new feature is also set to private as default, meaning the content is only accessible to friends that the citizen has personally approved within their account profile.
On the new features, Sue Fennessy, founder and global CEO of WeAre8 said, “These new features are some of the biggest platform enhancements we have made to WeAre8 since launching in the UK in early 2022 and are quite possibly the most important as we continue to scale the platform in new markets.
“Data shows that more than 54%* of people say they use social media to follow family and friends, yet it's quite possibly one product feature that many social platforms are no longer delivering, with people's social feeds often coupled with influencer content and advertising. The separate friends feed only displays content from those that matter most to you and is completely decoupled from advertising and the creator experience.
“As the social app geared towards good and reconnection, we hope these new features help create a greater sense of community and provide more ways for people to express their personality, all while knowing their time on social media is also helping make the world a better place."
WeAre8 is available to download now from Apple App Store or Google Play.
You can find out more information on the WeAre8 Creator Fund here
