I’m a woman who loves to challenge the system. Reimagine Peacebuilding is a community where I can rethink peace and its multiple perceptions. It has been a journey to understand the reality of ‘others’. A multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multilingual, and multi-belief community is a gift. We all contribute our best to this convulsing world.
I am a Venezuelan woman who, until 2013, had professional experience related to the pharmaceutical industry. My first volunteering role was in the very same building where I reside, and after this, I created a neighborhood organization to enhance the relationship between neighbors and local authorities. Unconsciously, it marked the beginning of my role as a peacebuilder.
I developed a career as a non-violence trainer, traveling across Venezuela to train more than 500 activists in twelve cities. The cultural, geographical, and social diversity of all the people I have worked with in my country sparked my interest in supporting individuals and encouraging them to learn how to solve their conflicts without resorting to violence. (peacebuilding lens)
For the past ten years, Venezuelans have been increasingly anxious, disaffected, and hopeless, feeling that their efforts have been frustrated. This has ignited my commitment to delve deeper into peaceful conflict resolution. I believe in human transformation and empowerment to create new relationships and foster a more just and safe world.
Working in vulnerable areas where violence is a part of everyday life, while recognizing people’s potential and their desire to live in nonviolent communities, continuously challenges me to identify and build opportunities for grassroots work. This is one of the key areas of expertise that I bring to the Reimagine Peacebuilding community.
This journey has led me to join the LATAM facilitators’ team in the Synergizing NonViolent Action and Peacebuilding program of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Nicaragua, Colombia, Bolivia, and Venezuela.
Receiving a Professional Development Certificate in Peace and Conflict Resolution from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand has opened doors to further opportunities and insights in the peacebuilding field.
Today, my work continues to focus on the people level, where their needs are closely tied to acts of violence, survival actions, and where women play a crucial role in strengthening relationships and the social fabric of communities. I’m working with women to enhance their capabilities as peacebuilders in a turbulent world, where we are losing the intimacy of living due to the deep structural violence that has become a part of their daily life.
