Photo courtesy of Mamisoa
Mamisoa Raveloartiana is a freelance writer, blogger, and human rights defender. She currently serves as a volunteer writer at Voices for Democracy and Justice in Africa, a platform dedicated to amplifying civic voices and promoting accountability across the continent.
According to Mamisoa, her passion for supporting others led her to found Association MamynySoa in Madagascar, a community-based organization focused on education, women’s empowerment, and advocacy. Additionally, she is currently the Francophone Community Coordinator at Africa Wiki Women, where she fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing to bridge gender and regional representation gaps on Wikimedia projects. As a language activist, she is particularly dedicated to the digital preservation of the Malagasy language.
Her journey with Global Voices began in 2011 as a volunteer translator into Malagasy. According to Mamisoa, she has always believed that GV is vital for bringing her language into the digital age.. In 2022, she expanded her reach by translating into French to give underreported stories the wider visibility they deserve.
After gaining valuable experience in translation, she began writing for Global Voices in 2023, contributing in French. Her work primarily focuses on Madagascar, driven by her conviction that the stories and realities of the country deserve to be known and understood worldwide.
All candidates in the 2026 board elections have been asked to answer the set of questions listed below. Feel free to ask Mamisoa additional questions in the comments area below this post!
What appeals to you most about the prospect of serving on the GV board?
What appeals to me is that as a long term GVer, I would like to bring insights and ideas from the global community of volunteers into decision making spaces, ensuring that the realities and the needs of volunteer contributors are better reflected.
As a volunteer at GV since 2011, I am particularly motivated by the chance to strengthen inclusion, support language diversity online, and help ensure that volunteer contributors from all regions feel empowered and supported in their work.
What talents, skills, networks, and expertise can you offer Global Voices in your role as board representative?
Having been with Global Voices since 2011, I deeply understand our work and what our volunteers need. I bring expertise in community coordination, multilingual writing, and digital language activism. This experience helps me represent our community’s voice and tackle the challenges we face together.
I also bring a wide network from African digital communities, Wikimedia, and other global organizations. I am committed to supporting language diversity and making sure unheard voices are recognized. I will use these connections to help GV grow.
As you look ahead to the next three years, what, in your opinion, should be GV’s overarching priorities as an organization?
In the next three years, Global Voices must keep its community at the center. Volunteers are our foundation, we must support them through better training, recognition, and mentorship. We also need to provide better tools and ensure their safety so they can contribute effectively. We also need to stay committed to language diversity, making sure voices from every region are heard. Finally, we must grow our global visibility to ensure our stories have the greatest possible impact.
What aspect of GV’s work interests you the most?
What interests me the most about Global Voices is its openness, its diversity, and its mission to connect people through stories from around the world.
I am especially passionate about the role of translation. As someone who started as a translator, I have seen how translation makes important stories accessible across languages
I also value how Global Voices highlights underrepresented voices and brings attention to local realities that are often not widely known.
What would you like to get out of this board service experience, both professionally and personally?
Professionally, I want to learn about strategic leadership and how to manage a global organization. This role will help me grow from a coordinator into a high-level decision-maker.
Personally, I want to build my confidence and connect with other global leaders. This experience will give me a deeper sense of purpose. It will help me turn my passion for language justice into real leadership skills that I can use to help others.
How will you fit board service into your personal and other professional work commitments?
I am fully committed to Global Voices’ mission and values. When something is truly close to my heart, like Global Voices, I always do my best to support its growth and I will make the time and effort needed to contribute actively and responsibly to the board.
What methods would you use to engage and listen to the community in order to represent them effectively at board level?
I stay accessible and open to communication. I’m available to community members through different channels, and I welcome suggestions, feedback, and questions at any time.
Through our community channel, I encourage exchange in order to learn from each other, and reflect on our growth both personally and professionally.
