AOL women's site Makers launches in the UK, with Annie Lennox and Laura Bates set to contribute
AOL is to bring its online women's platform, Makers, to the UK announcing a string of high-profile contributors including musician Annie Lennox, Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates and Jude Kelly, artistic director of the Southbank Centre.
The digital female leadership project will feature the "most dynamic collection of women's stories ever assembled," according to AOL. The site, which has already launched in the US, Canada and China, has previously attracted content from the likes of Sheryl Sandberg and Hillary Clinton.
The launch was announced at Ad Week Europe today (20 April), the site's US counterpart has clocked up more than 3000 videos from inspiring women since it was unveiled in 2012.
Lennox, Bates and Kelly are among the the first UK makers, joined by Anne-Marie Imafidon, co-founder of Stemettes – an award-winning social enterprise inspiring the next generation of females into STEM careers, and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig Writer among others.
In her first video for the site, Lennox talks about her childhood and touches on the most influetial moments in her life so far, Kelly meanwhile discussses growing up in Liverpool and creating the Women of the World festival.
"At Makers we are proud to share the stories of groundbreaking women and we know that those stories have no geographical bounds," said the site's 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 around the globe," she added.
AOL will partner with Paco Rabanne fragrance Olympéa on the project, with the scent set to feature as exclusive sponsor for six months in a deal brokered by Havas Media. The brand will feature in a combination of editorial, sponsored and advertising content across Makers.com and AOL’s other properties.
Stuart Flint, managing director, AOL UK said: "We are thrilled to be working with Paco Rabanne, who share the same passion as AOL in showcasing the stories of remarkable women globally to inspire the next generation of female leaders.