Ana Santiago

Head of Communications & Community Engagement at Startup Lisboa

My experience and deep interests:

• Culture

• Writing

I am based in: Lisbon

Even though I first wanted to be a forensic doctor, my ambition turned to wanting to be a journalist, within which I discovered that my true love was the radio. I started to work at NRJ - Radio Energy, and soon found myself spending more hours on the radio rather than attending classes at Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Many years later, I still think that there has never been another radio like that, where storytelling was everything.

I then devoted myself to public service and have for almost 20 years been living a passionate relationship with Lisbon, working within the local government. There I edited the Cultural Agenda and experienced a wide range of functions - from press relations to internal communication, including a managing position in cultural affairs. This also translates in my passion for cinema, startups, emerging technology, urban culture, the writing of others and social media.

I believe that life can be short, but in the end it will be no more than a feature film, the script of which I write and rewrite each day. When Shortcutz Lisboa started to be part of my life, I took on the role of PR for 3 years and host of a unique weekly event that showcases new Portuguese short films by amateurs and professionals alike. At the same time, I was the editor of The Printed Blog Portugal - a magazine devoted to blogosphere, now defunct due to financial unviability of the publisher. It was really a sad moment for me, but life went on.

Over the last 2 years I have taken a new step towards my career growth by joining Startup Lisboa (Lisbon City Incubator), where I have been learning to develop and execute new challenges in a field where I am not so comfortable, considering the cultural environment background, which traditionally is not devoted to combine innovation with strategic business plans. I''m still aiming to learn how to be happy doing something you love and earning money (and helping others to earn money).

With a BA in Communication Sciences, I know that I don’t want to do more in life than be able to communicate with everyone, from sunrise to dawn. And if there’s no one around, I will communicate with myself. I believe that this can only be accomplished with my whole heart.