AOL is to launch its online women’s platform, Makers, in the UK with high-profile names including singer Annie Lennox, Everyday Sexism Project founder Laura Bates and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig.
Makers, an online collection of women’s stories which has content from Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, and Girls writer and star, Lena Dunham, has already launched in the US, Canada and China.
AOL is now launching the platform in the UK backed by Eurythmics singer Lennox; Bates, who also contributes to publications including the Guardian; Toksvig, who co-founded the Women’s Equality Party after noting the high number of women who failed to vote in the 2010 general election; and Southbank Centre artistic director, Jude Kelly.
Makers UK’s first contributors will also include Baroness Amos, director of University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, whose CV includes being leader of the House of Lords, and Anne-Marie Imafidon, founder of social enterprise Stemettes, which aims to get more women involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
“At Makers we are proud to share the stories of groundbreaking women and we know that those stories have no geographical bounds,” said Makers vice-president and creative director, Samantha Leibovitz. “Bringing our platform to the UK is an amazing opportunity to showcase important stories that need to be told and to grow the impact we can have on the next generation of leaders from around the globe.”
Since launching in the US in 2012, Makers has amassed a collection of more than 3,000 videos from more than 300 women, including comedian and chatshow host Ellen DeGeneres, and Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg.
AOL, which announced the launch of Makers UK at Advertising Week Europe in London on Wednesday, has signed up Paco Rabanne perfume Olympéa as the launch sponsor and partner for the next six months.
AOL said it plans to launch the Makers platform in other countries later this year. “Through the expansion of Makers in the UK, AOL has reinforced our commitment to creating unique and compelling video content,” said AOL UK managing director Stuart Flint.
