Mariaje González Flor

Shaping People with Critical Thinking

Mariaje González entered the world of journalism just as it was taking its first digital steps. She began her career working in the traditional “pen and notebook” format at prestigious outlets such as El País and Cadena SER, which helped her develop a solid foundation in content creation.

In the early 2000s, Mariaje ventured into the digital world, coinciding with the arrival of platforms such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram in Spain. During this time, she began managing teams and leading projects related to digital content creation. In 2012, she joined Microsoft, where she remained for ten years. Initially, she was responsible for content creation teams for Microsoft News, and later she oversaw the monetisation of this content. This evolution in her career allowed her to gain a comprehensive understanding of the content lifecycle: from its creation to its management and profitability.

Gradually, the growing dependence on algorithms in the sector, the mass digitalisation of society, and the commodification of data… all contributed to Mariaje’s growing personal and professional unease, prompting her decision to leave the multinational company and rethink her future. She chose to shift her focus from machines and algorithms to people. During this process of reflection, she discovered a new vocation: Media and Information Literacy (MIL).

In the past three years, she has channelled her energy into her own project, Criterio MIL, through which she educates and informs families, institutions, and parents about today’s digital and media landscape. Additionally, her commitment to media literacy led to her being elected co-secretary-general of UNESCO’s MIL Alliance, an organisation that brings together institutions from around the world to share best practices and promote media and digital literacy. From this position, she has played a key role in UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy Week.