Netflix is opening up a new four-month mentorship program for underrepresented communities, partnering with LatinX in Animation—a non-profit branch of the Latino Film Institute—and autism education organization Exceptional Minds to find its first participants.
Netflix Animation Foundations Program, which launches September 13, will identify talent from LatinX and neurodiverse communities, and pair participants with mentors from Netflix Animation Studio.
Seventy-five mentees are expected to be selected to receive guidance on breaking into the industry, planning career growth, portfolio curation and resumés to help them apply for internships, training programs and entry-level animation positions.
Netflix’s goal with this program is to build equity and increase access for underrepresented early-stage creatives, according to a release.
The program comes on the heels of the streamer’s first inclusion report, which found that while nearly half of its US workforce (46.4%) and leadership (42%) are from one or more underrepresented racial or ethnic backgrounds, greater effort is needed to increase Latino representation.