Brazil

Age: 25

Brazil

Renata (she/her) is a youth, gender, and climate justice advocate from Brazil empowering young women from the Global South to occupy climate decision-making spaces.

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities? 

EmpoderaClima started as a database with original and curated content in four languages, serving as a resource about gender and climate justice for anyyone who doesn't have access to materials about these topics in their native languages. This work to translate not just the language but also the experiences I was having at UN events and climate negotiations resulted in an organic shift to the advocacy world. My work is now also in global and national advocacy for gender-just climate action through multiple partnerships with climate organizations and global movements, frequent interventions at high-level events, and projects on climate education with organizations like the Malala Fund and the UN Girls’ Education Initiative.

Tell us about your journey to where you are today. 

Growing up around nature in the south of Brazil, and with a strong sense of social responsibility from a young age, mainly inspired by my mother, I believe working on climate justice makes sense in my journey. Looking back now, I did not know what I wanted to do when I first started my undergraduate studies in International Relations and learned about the climate negotiations.

Educational and professional opportunities are far more limited in the Global South, especially when it comes to women in policymaking, but I was lucky enough to have been sponsored by governments and mentored by people who believed in my potential as I explored the climate activism world as a student. I had many opportunities that other young Brazilian women were not able to access, and this awareness is the reason why I founded EmpoderaClima—with an ambitious goal to make gender and climate justice conversations more accessible to youth through education.

My seven years of experience in the youth climate movement, combined with my entry into the public service for my first job as a political analyst in Rio de Janeiro, ignited my goal to directly address the climate crisis and mobilize change through international policy. I am now studying Public Policy at Harvard University to learn how I can best contribute to a more just and sustainable world through public service and maximize my impact for climate action.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME

What is your superpower?

Speaking about my passion for climate justice to very different audiences and inspiring others to get involved in some way!
 
Who do you look up to as inspiration?
Christiana Figueres is one of my biggest inspirations as a powerful Latin American woman in global policy who set the tone for ambitious and successful climate negotiations through her optimism and resilience.
 
How do you unwind?
Riding a bike through the city or beach while listening to loud, fun music.
 
What’s your favorite food to celebrate with?
If it’s hot outside, I’ll celebrate with some açaí with paçoca. If it’s cold out, the Brazilian dessert brigadeiro. 
 
Would you rather live underwater or in the sky?
I love roller coasters and, like a good Sagittarian, feeling free, so I’d rather live in the sky!

Brasília, Brazil                                       SEE OTHER BIOS HERE
Age: 26

Eduarda is working to mobilize Brazilian youth to tackle climate change through capacity building and advocacy. 

Tell us about yourself!

Growing up in a resource rich country, I developed an environmental awareness from an early age. This was bolstered when I was ten, after a teacher told me to watch Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” which made me realize the importance of climate action. I felt compelled to dedicate my life to raising awareness about climate change, and since my first nudge was given by a teacher, I knew that promoting change would involve environmental education.

Learning about public policy during my undergraduate studies also made me realize the importance of politics to create lasting change for the environment. At the time, I was involved in education programs teaching English and politics to high school students living in the outskirts of Brasília, which made me understand the true value of sharing knowledge with others. Young people are thirsty for knowledge!

I was lucky to be discovered by Engajamundo, a youth-led NGO (“Engaging the World” in English) in Brazil, where I started doing environmental education by giving capacity building workshops to young people. After graduating, I started working as a climate change consultant at the Inter-American Development Bank while still at at Engajamundo. I also coordinated a solar energy project on the importance of renewables, training youth to push decision-makers to invest in clean technologies. Now, I am preparing to start my MPA at Columbia University and am looking forward to creating solid partnerships between Engajamundo and other youth organizations.

I always say my inspiration was Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth.” Although this completely changed my life and personal goals, I became truly inspired to become a champion for the environment after I joined Engajamundo. It is refreshing to learn that you are not alone. I entered a network of young people from the most diverse backgrounds, social classes, and ethnicities in my own country, all who were working to stop climate change. These people are my greatest source of inspiration.

One particular person who takes my breath away whenever she speaks is Raquel Rosemberg, one of Engajamundo’s founders. She was also devoted to the environment since she was a child. After building this youth network, instead of choosing a traditional career path, she moved to the middle of the Amazon forest to work with projects that empower indigenous women through environmental activities. Those who are willing to abandon everything for the environment are the ones that give me hope and strength to continue.

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders that are looking to bring about positive change in their communities through EE?

I would say that studying is important, but sometimes you only see the real impact once you leave the classroom. Life taught me the most when I implemented projects and put ideas into practice. With environmental education, teaching should not be our main objective, because even educators are always learning. I strongly believe that building environmental awareness through education means building solutions with everyone involved in a collective way, because sometimes the “student” knows more than the “teacher”.

Furthermore, EE will not solve the climate crisis without political action. Young people should always be aware of their potential to make a change in the environment by pressuring the politicians they elected. Bringing positive change to a community should start with political awareness and youth empowerment.

What keeps you motivated, inspired, or hopeful for the future?

When I look back on my childhood and remember seeing people tossing garbage out of their cars as if it was natural, I think about how much we have improved over the years. There is still a long way to go, but working with these issues can lead to stress and hopelessness if we often we feel that, even with all our efforts, we will never get there. Keeping in mind that we have achieved a lot over the years keeps me hopeful for the future.

The global “Fridays for Future” movement, created by Greta Thunberg, also motivates me to continue on this path. It is truly inspiring knowing that so many young people around the world are taking the lead to solve the climate crisis by going to the streets and asking for more action from the adults.

Who do you look up to as inspiration for your work?

Last year, I participated in a program called Youth Climate Leaders to work on climate education for a month in Kenya. Our group stayed in a children’s shelter led by one of my greatest EE inspirations, Dr. Karambu Ringera. She grew up in Kenya and studied abroad in the US for many years, always knowing she wanted to come back to help those in her home country. I find her inspiring because she abandoned a comfortable lifestyle and her fiancé to go back and build the shelter. Instead of just building it, she also trains the children and teenagers who live there to be independent, so that they are empowered to follow their dreams despite any daily challenges. Now, Dr. Karambu is now transforming the space into a sustainable shelter using biogas, agroforestry, permaculture, and plants for medicine, involving her kids in this process so they have a sense of ownership over what they build.