DARIELA SOSA

Dariela Sosa is a Venezuelan-Italian journalist, media entrepreneur, and consultant with over a decade of experience in journalism, audience development, and strategic communications. She is the founder of Arepita, an award-winning Venezuelan media outlet with over 80,000 subscribers, celebrated for its innovative approach to digital storytelling.

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Q: Tell us a few things about you! Your background, your childhood and early beginnings! 

Raised in Venezuela during a time of political and economic upheaval, I was equally passionate about science and the humanities. As a child, I imagined becoming a physician, a policymaker, a journalist, and a singer—but choosing just one felt limiting.

I studied journalism in Caracas and later earned a scholarship to pursue a Master’s in Public Administration at Columbia University in New York, with a focus on technology and communications. I worked in television and radio, covering global health and Latin American politics, and eventually founded a newsletter-based media outlet about my home country. It has built a community of 90,000 subscribers by combining rigorous journalism with creativity and humor in the news consumption experience.

Over the past decade, the Venezuelan government has become an authoritarian regime, and the risks of practicing independent journalism have escalated sharply. In 2024, I migrated to Spain with my husband and our two children. I now work in communications for a healthtech startup in Madrid, do some freelance journalism, and, every now and then, find my way to an open mic to sing.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

One of the most urgent challenges we face in 2025 is learning to coexist with artificial intelligence—not just as a productivity tool, but as a force fundamentally reshaping labour, trust and social cohesion. 

In the media space, for example, AI is rewriting the rules. We’ve entered an era where seeing is no longer believing, where voices and images can be generated with astonishing realism. The implications for journalism and public discourse are profound. How do we combat disinformation when the very nature of evidence is in question? And how do we build a shared framework for verified content that upholds democratic decision-making? 

To meet this moment, both journalists and citizens must strengthen our adaptability—our collective capacity to absorb rapid change and propose creative solutions without losing clarity of purpose.

Q: Share with us some of the hurdles that you had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them? 

I began my career as a journalist in Venezuela, as democratic institutions were rapidly eroding. During that collapse, I founded a newsletter-based media outlet, navigating censorship in both traditional and digital media through email, and leading a team through deep uncertainty.

Migration added another layer. Relocating to Spain with my husband and children meant starting over: rebuilding networks and rethinking my professional path. At the same time, the rise of artificial intelligence has pushed me to reassess where my career in journalism and communications is headed— and whether I can still make a living doing what sustained me in the past.

By recognising what I enjoy, where my strengths lie, and the context I’m in, I chose to focus on the intersection of communications, health, and technology. This reinvention builds on my long-standing interests and core skills—storytelling, audience development, and systems thinking—but applies them in a new context.

I’ve learned to move with the moment rather than resist it and to listen for when it’s time to pause, pivot, or press forward.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you? 

Mentorship creates space for clarity, courage, and connection. Having a mentor like Shahira Amin— someone who understands the complexities of journalism, leadership, and reinvention—has been a gift. A mentor helps you zoom out, ask better questions, and see the throughlines in your journey when you’re too deep in the day-to-day to recognise them yourself.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share? 

I grew up in Venezuela, in a flawed but functioning democracy. By the time I was a working journalist, that democracy had given way to authoritarianism. In less than two decades, the country lost 70% of its GDP, and more than a quarter of its people left. I was one of them. 

Democracy should never be taken for granted. Protecting our institutions is a daily responsibility. It is incredibly difficult to build—and dangerously easy to lose.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives! 

I support the work of MujeresTech in Spain. They’re doing vital work to ensure that women are not just users of technology, but also builders and decision-makers within it. Their mission focuses on increasing women’s visibility in the digital sector, inspiring the next generation, and strengthening professional networks for women in tech.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are being made towards gender equality?

A new and pressing challenge is unfolding not just in my country, but globally: the gender gap in artificial intelligence. According to the World Economic Forum and LinkedIn, women are underrepresented in the very roles being amplified by AI, and overrepresented in those most likely to be automated. It's not just a skills gap; it's a power gap, unfolding in real time.If we don't act quickly, AI could become another engine of inequality.

Q: Share with us a motto you live by. 

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” It’s a quiet kind of mantra—one that anchors me in motion rather than perfection. Sometimes, it’s the small, deliberate steps we take, rooted in where we are and what’s within reach, that matter most.

Q: If you had all the money needed to launch the project of your dreams, can you describe what you would do? 

I would launch a social enterprise dedicated to helping people rebuild their personal narratives in times of rapid change. As technology and automation continue to transform the world of work, we’ll need more than just upskilling and reskilling—we’ll need new ways of understanding who we are. 

The era of a single, lifelong career is fading. Many of us will shift paths multiple times, not always by choice. To navigate these transitions with dignity and purpose, we need new narratives, support, and a sense of belonging. My own journey reflects this reality. My dream project would offer others the tools and community to approach reinvention not with fear, but with clarity, confidence, and hope.

Q: How is technology utilised for social impact in your country? For example are there mobile apps that support gender equality, inclusion, understanding of cultures?

At the healthtech startup where I work, we use AI-powered microscopes to expand diagnostic access in underserved regions, particularly in Africa and Latin America. It’s a striking example of how innovation— when rooted in equity and ethics—can begin to close urgent gaps in global healthcare.

But the promise of AI extends far beyond medicine. I believe social impact lies in democratising access to these tools across sectors. You don’t need a technical background to engage with AI. That’s why, earlier this year in Madrid, I launched a monthly study group focused on the intersection of AI, journalism, and communications. We exchange tools, seek support for our work projects, and help one another build AI literacy within our field. We also carve out space to reflect—on how these technologies are not only transforming our work, but quietly reshaping our societies and our sense of what it means to be human.