Yoani María Sánchez Cordero is a philologist, digital journalist, and activist. She was born on September 4, 1975, in Havana, Cuba.
Graduated from the Faculty of Arts and Letters at the University of Havana in 2000.
After completing his higher studies, he had a very brief employment connection with Editorial Gente Nueva, which he left to teach Spanish to tourists.
In 2002, he traveled to Switzerland. There, in Zurich, he resided until 2004, when he decided to return to the Island and establish his residence there. That same year, he founded the magazine Consenso along with other Cubans.
In 2007, she launched her blog Generación Y, which serves as a bridge between the everyday reality of Cuba and the world. Using a straightforward and unpretentious language, and a critical perspective, she documents the multiple issues of daily life in Cuba. From this point on, her posts became increasingly discussed, her figure more controversial, internationally recognized, and censored and attacked by the media and mechanisms of official power in Cuba.
She has received, like many other Cuban activists, threats, detentions, house arrest, and has been subjected more than once to harsh interrogations by agents of the Cuban state security.
In May 2014, he founded the digital newspaper 14ymedio.com, which operates from his own apartment in Cuba.
Both the work on her blog, which has the merit of engaging with a system from within, and the topics she addresses have earned her numerous accolades. Just a year after launching her blog, she received the Ortega y Gasset Award for Digital Journalism (Spain, 2008) and was included by Time Magazine in their list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World (United States, 2008).
He has received, among others, the following awards and distinctions:
The 10 Characters of 2008 (Gatopardo, Mexico, 2008)
100 Most Important Hispanic Americans in 2008 (El País, Spain, 2008)
10 Most Influential Intellectuals in Latin America in 2008 (Foreign Policy, United States, 2008)
The BOBs (Deutsche Welle, Germany, 2008)
Global Young Leaders Award (World Economic Forum, Switzerland, 2009)
25 Best Blogs of 2009 (Time Magazine, 2009)
Hemispheric Heroes Award 2009 (Pan American Foundation for Development, United States, 2009)
Young Leaders Award 2009 (International Foundation of Young Leaders, Argentina, 2009)
María Moors Cabot Award (Columbia University, United States, 2009)
Blog of the Month in December 2009 (The Good Web Guide, United Kingdom, 2009)
World Hero of Press Freedom (International Press Institute, United States, 2010)
Prize for Freedom CEPOS (Danish Center for Independent Research, Denmark, 2010)
Jaime Brunet International Prize (Public University of Navarra, Spain, 2010)
The bravest woman on Earth (Chosen by readers, 20 minutos, Spain, 2010)
Prince Claus Award for Journalism (Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, Netherlands, 2010)
International Women of Courage Award (U.S. Department of State, 2011)
100 women with digital talent (Wellcommunity, Spain, 2011)
The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers (Foreign Policy, United States, 2011)
150 Fearless Women (The Daily Beast, United States, 2012)
