Leading women from Pará to expand debate on climate change, gender and territory

A group made up of specialists from 23 different professions trained in the Sustainable Amazon Leadership Program (LIAS), run by the Imazon research institute.

 

Broadening the debate on climate change, gender and territory in their 23 different professions is the mission of a group of 26 women who work in leadership positions in Pará State. Coming from 5 of the State’s 6 mesoregions, they are the graduates of the first class of the Sustainable Amazon Leadership Program (LIAS), promoted by the Imazon research institute, whose graduation took place last Saturday (25).

The initiative is aimed at specialists over the age of 30 and with at least five years of professional experience who have lived in Pará for a decade or more. Launched in 2024, the program involved classes on climate change, the Amazon, public policies in the executive and legislative branches, the participation of women in public debate, press relations and the production of digital content.

“LIAS emerged in the context of pre-COP 30, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change to be held in Belém, the State’s capital, in November. The event represents an opportunity for these female leaders to deepen the socio-environmental debate in different sectors and hone their skills to contribute to sustainable public policies for the Amazon,” says Imazon researcher Brenda Brito, who coordinates the program.

Eight online meetings were held, totaling 16 hours of classes, with 12 different teachers. Fifteen of the 26 participants also had the opportunity to take part in an immersion program in Brasilia. There, they had meetings in Congress, in Executive agencies and with representatives of the third sector, including audiences with the ministers of the Environment, Marina Silva, and of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco.

“I’ve noticed that people use the word ‘leadership’ as if it were something disconnected from knowledge. And LIAS represents the opposite. We are leaders because we are specialists, intellectuals. Our approach is forged from ancestral knowledge; we carry the knowledge of our territory. Regardless of our academic background, we are intellectuals,” said journalist and researcher Flávia Ribeiro, one of the class members.

In addition to encouraging the dissemination of the relationship between climate change, gender and territory in their areas of work and activism, the program also stood out for creating a network of women with diversified knowledge. “LIAS is about women’s empowerment and the fight against ageism in a prejudiced country where women seem to have an expiration date. Sorority is a hallmark of the program, which brings together women from different territories and defenses, but who converge on common goals,” said graduate Luciana Athayde, who works as an agronomist and family farmer.

Meet the graduates of the LIAS class of 2024:

Andreza dos Santos Filizzola Lopes Pauxi (Óbidos): A lawyer, researcher, teacher, mediator and socio-environmental activist, Andreza currently works as a project manager and advisor to the Boa Vista Quilombo Association (Alto Trombetas), the first Quilombola territory to be titled in the country. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Law and a master’s degree in Social Science with a focus on Human Rights, the Environment and Environmental Citizenship from UFOPA. She also has a specialization in Technologies Applied to Land Regularization and Socio-environmental Conflicts from UFPA and in Civil Law and Civil Procedure from UNAMA. In 2019, she received an honorable mention in Conflict Resolution from the National Council for Mediation and Arbitration and an honorable mention from UFOPA. She is a member of the Indigenous Consciousness Group (GCI), and a volunteer in the Akatu Wasu Village community; the Community-Based Tourism and Handicrafts Cooperative (Turiart); Casa Agnes, which serves riverine women and children; and other groups. She was also the local coordinator of the NGO Zoé, which provides specialized medical care in the area. Today, she works by connecting donations and volunteers to socio-environmental projects in the Amazon, especially in the Tapajós, Arapiuns, Trombetas and Lower Amazonas regions.

Aurea Milene Teixeira Barbosa dos Santos (Belém): A production engineer with a master’s degree in electrical engineering, Aurea currently works as the sustainability project manager at the Guamá Science and Technology Park (PCT Guamá). The projects she leads involve monitoring the goals of the Amazônia Agora State Plan, socio-bioeconomics (mainly by helping to improve the oil extraction process and bringing connectivity to communities) and mapping out impact business initiatives in the city of Belém. She is also the CEO of the sports and social association Japuaçu Rugby Belém and has worked at the startup Ver-o-Fruto, which processes açaí residues to produce products related to hygiene and water treatment.

Concimar Okitidi Sompre (Marabá): A medical graduate from UFPA, Concimar currently works as an on-call doctor in the public health system, providing urgent and emergency care. She is an activist in the indigenous movement, working mainly on indigenous health issues. She is a member of the Pará State Indigenous Peoples Federation (Fepipa) and the Xerente People’s Association.

Danny Beatriz Ventura Silva (Belém): With a degree in Biomedicine, a postgraduate degree in Aesthetic Biomedicine and a master’s degree in Neurosciences and Cell Biology, Danny currently works as a biomedical esthetician and as a teacher in the area of basic and advanced esthetics. She is also vice-president of the NGO Família Hope, which takes in trans people, transvestites and their families, and represents the institution at the Pará State Health Department. Still in the third sector, she is a fiscal advisor to the Rede Bike Anjo, an institution that she also represents in the Danny Beatriz Ventura Silva Urban Mobility Advisory Forum of the Department of Cities.

Dyanara de Almeida Oliveira (Belém): Dyanara is a nutritionist and nutrition teacher at Estácio Belém College. She has a master’s degree in Human Nutrition and postgraduate degrees in Obesity and Weight Loss; Eating Behavior; and Food and Nutrition Safety. She is also vice-president of the Brazilian Nutrition Association (ASBRAN), a member of the Slow Food movement since 2015 and of the Alliance for Adequate and Healthy Food since 2019. She also represents ASBRAN on the Food and Nutrition Commission of the National Health Council (CNS).

Elizeth Marques de Souza (Cametá): With a degree in Biological Sciences and a specialization in Agroecology, Elizeth currently works as the coordinator and secretary of the Jirau Agroecology Network. She is also the coordinator of the community association where she lives and of the organization’s women’s group, as well as being a member of the Paraense Association for the Support of Needy Communities (APACC). She also runs workshops on preparing projects for the Food Acquisition Program (PAA) and the Program.

Flávia Ribeiro (Ananindeua): Mother, journalist, activist and researcher, she currently works as an advisor in the Pará State Legislative Assembly. She has a degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Communication Sciences from UFPA. She also coordinates the Black Women’s March in Belém and is a member of the Center for the Study and Defense of Black People in Pará (Cedenpa), the Fulanas Network – Black Women of the Brazilian Amazon and the Black Cyberactivists Network – Pará Hub. She also lectures and teaches courses on the intersections of race, class and gender in the field of communication.

Gisele Cristine Silva Mendes (Belém): She is president of the Vila da Barca Solidarity Commission, where she founded the Barca Literária project. The organization benefits 60 children and teenagers with continuing education activities and peripheral belonging and empowerment through reading, art and culture. She is also an adviser to the Gerando Falcões Network and a member of the Literary Amazon Network, COP das Baixadas and Perifa Connection. She has a degree in Social Work and a post-graduate degree in Management and Auditing in Health Services and currently works as a social worker at Unimed Prime Hospital.

Giselle Pinheiro Fonseca (Belém): She has a degree in Pedagogy and specializes in Teaching in Higher Education. She works as a pedagogue at the Regional Directorate of Education (DRE) 07 (Belém) of the Pará State Department of Education (Seduc) and at the Human Resources Department (DERH) of the Belém City Department of Education. Her work in the state government involves training teachers who teach 1st to 4th grade classes, through the “Alfabetiza Pará” and “Bora Alfabetizar” programs. At Belém City Council, in the area of human resources, she works on the placement and functional records of civil servants.

Glinda Sousa Farias (Breves): She is the mobilization and integration coordinator for the Mondó Network, which works with territorial development in Breves, Marajó. She has a degree in Social Work and a postgraduate degree in Administration and Management of Social Projects, as well as a postgraduate degree in High Impact ESG. She is also a councillor on the Municipal Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CMDCA) and on the Municipal Health Council (CMS) and is a member of the Committee for the Preparation of the Ten-Year Plan for Social Assistance in Breves City and the Permanent Committee for the Protection of Victims and Witnesses of Violence, among others. She has worked for five years in social assistance policy and has been the coordinator of the itinerant team (Cras Volante), the Child Labor Eradication Program (PETI) and the Food Acquisition Program (PAA); manager of the BPC at school program; and reference technician for the Comprehensive Family Protection and Assistance Service (PAIF), the Specialized Assistance Service for Families and Individuals (PAEFI) and the Social Duty. She also took part in the construction of the current Municipal Solid Waste Management Plan for Breves.

Juliene Pereira dos Santos (Oriximiná): An anthropologist and Quilombola researcher, Juliene has a degree in Social Sciences, a master’s degree in Social and Political Cartography of the Amazon and a doctorate in Anthropology. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Postgraduate Program in Society, Nature and Development at UFOPA, where she is conducting research on the use of natural remedies in quilombola communities, territorialities and socio-environmental conflicts on the Trombetas River in Oriximiná, her place of belonging. She is a member of the Quilombos Committee of the Brazilian Anthropology Association and is also a researcher for the New Social Cartography of the Amazon Project. In 2023, she took part in the United Nations (UN) Fellowship Programmes, a grant for indigenous and Quilombola people to emerge in international advocacy. To this end, she spent a month in Geneva, Switzerland, the headquarters of the UN, to learn about human rights mechanisms and the modus operandi of international advocacy practices.

Katia Nunes (Ananindeua): A social educator and Pedagogy graduate, she is the director-president of the Association of Sons and Friends of Afro-Brazilian Culture (AFACAB). The organization conducts activities aimed at combating food insecurity in the communities surrounding the Aurá city dump, securing rights, mental health and sustainability, as well as a film club. She is also an advisor to the State Council for Policies to Promote Racial Equality (CONEPPIR) and is part of the coordination of the Northern Region in the Afro-Environmental Network. In 2024, she was awarded the Mãe Doca Commendation, a recognition given by the Pará Legislative Assembly to representatives of religions of African origin.

Keissi Borari (Santarém): She is a founding member of the Suraras do Tapajós Indigenous Women’s Association, whose mission is to combat violence and racism against indigenous women through welcoming, empowerment, self-esteem and economic and political empowerment. She is also the ‘curimbozeira’ and composer of Suraras do Tapajós, the first ‘carimbó’ group formed solely by indigenous women. In the musical collective, she is also part of the executive coordination, co-responsible for contracts, partnerships, new projects and artistic direction. She has a degree in Business Administration and also works as a tourism operations manager for a company that offers high-end trips on private boats, sailing the Tapajós, Amazonas and Arapinus rivers. This work also involves taking tourists to community-based tourism projects.

Liliane Silva do Nascimento (Belém): With a degree in Dentistry, a specialist in Collective Health and a master’s and doctorate in Public Health, Liliane is a professor at UFPA, where she leads a research group recognized by CNPq and develops education, literacy and health promotion activities in traditional communities, such as quilombolas and riverside communities, or those living in vulnerable territories, such as urban conglomerates. She also does voluntary work with women in situations of violence in the Metropolitan and Marajó regions, called “Marajoara women protecting their bodies and the Amazon”, where she works on issues such as menstrual dignity, birth control and the use of medication. In conjunction with the Pará State Health Department, she has also provided specialized health training in Belém and other municipalities in the Metropolitan Region since 2022. It also contributes to the Municipal and State Health Conferences, COP of the Baixadas, neighborhood associations and associations of people with disabilities.

Livia Medeiros Neves Casseb (Belém): A veterinary doctor with a master’s and doctorate in Tropical Diseases, Livia is a researcher in Public Health and heads the Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fever Section of the Evandro Chagas Institute (IEC), a collaborating center for diagnosis and research in emerging and re-emerging zoonoses of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). She also coordinates the Experimental Immunopathology Laboratory, is vice-coordinator of the Rabies Laboratory and is part of the Amazon Initiative for Tropical Bite Research (IAIMT) network. She also works as an ad hoc consultant for the Amazon Foundation for Studies and Research in Pará (FAPESPA) and is on the list of 11 ad hoc specialists for veterinary public health for the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA). As a volunteer, she is also a member of the Brazilian Veterinary Epidemiological Surveillance Network. She also works as a children’s evangelist at the Yvon Costa Spiritist Centre.

Luciana Athayde (Igarapé-Açu): An agronomist, family farmer and environmental activist, Luciana is the owner of Sítio Agroecológico Tolú, where she produces organic food and runs a pilot project to recycle organic waste using the laminar composting technique. She is also co-founder of the Sustainable Amazon Development Institute (IDEASSU), a non-governmental organization focused on sustainable development in the region. She has a degree in Agronomic Engineering, a master’s degree in Organic Agriculture and a specialization in Smart and Sustainable Cities. She has experience in the areas of Solid Waste Management, Agroecology, Organic Production, Composting and Agricultural Entomology.

Lucynéia Nery Neves (Abaetetuba): A businesswoman, public servant and law student, Lucinéia works as director of the Abaetetuba City Tourism Department and as coordinator of the Casa do Empreendedor (Entrepreneur’s House). She has been a member of the Abaetetuba Commercial Association for 14 years, an institution she has chaired and where she is currently a senior advisor. She has also chaired the Women’s Business Council and the Municipal Council for Women’s Rights.

Maria Claudia Bentes Albuquerque (Belém): A lawyer and professor, Maria Claudia is a professor in the Undergraduate Law Program and the Graduate Program in Development and the Urban Environment at Unama, where she also coordinates the Scientific Initiation Program and leads the Law and Sustainable Urban Development in the Amazon (DUSA) research group. She is also the vice-president of the State Commission for Urban Law and Urban Planning of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) – Pará Section, which she has chaired for two three-year terms, and is taking the training course for Mediators and Conciliators run by the National Council of Justice (CNJ). Maria has a degree in Law, a specialization in Environmental Law and Strategic Sustainability Management, a master’s degree in Natural Resource Management and Local Development in the Amazon and a doctorate in Law.

Mariana Neves Cruz Mello (Belém): A geography professor at UFPA, ethno-environmental consultant and apprentice shaman, Mariana has been leading debates on the precariousness of teaching in the Amazon for more than six years. In education, she works with the promotion of regional identity based on the ecology of knowledge, against the backdrop of Marajoara cabocla pajelança, which she has been learning since 2019 with the pajé Roxita, from Soure, in Marajó. In Igarapé-Açu, she is also a scientific communicator for Moeda Verde, a solidarity economy social movement led by women. In Soure, she is a member of the Santo Antônio House of Mission and Charity. She has a degree and a master’s in Geography and a PhD in Aquatic Ecology and Fisheries.

Mariane Castro (Muaná): A native of Ribeirinha, Marajó Observatory’s communications manager and multimedia artist, Mariane has a degree in Multimedia Social Communication and a degree in Theater with an emphasis on Cultural Production and Design. At the Observatory, it plans, develops and implements the communication strategy, with a focus on strengthening the leadership of traditional riverine and Quilombola communities in 17 municipalities in Marajó. She also works to strengthen the mobilizations of the traditional riverside community to which she belongs and is the first secretary of the association of small producers in the settlement to which she belongs.

Marlena Pinheiro Soares (Santarém): Environmental manager, coordinator of Socio-environmental Programs at the Sustainable Connections Institute (Conexsus) and president of the Regatão Amazônia Institute, Marlena is a reference in the area of culture in the Lower Amazon. At Conexsus, she is co-responsible for a project with indigenous organizations and develops strategies to increase the participation of women and young people in community businesses. Regatão Amazônia, meanwhile, works to bolster the region’s cultural identity. Among the institute’s current projects are the “Barco Regatão”, aimed at riverbank cultural makers, and a Film Club in Alter do Chão.

Marly Lúcia da Silva Ferreira (Bragança): A fisherwoman, shellfish gatherer, family farmer and artisan, Marly has been the women’s secretary of the National Commission for the Promotion of Extractive Reserves and Marine Coastal Extractive Peoples (Confrem) for six years, and is already in her second term. Her work at Confrem involves forming and bolstering networks of women extractivists throughout the country. She has also been active in the debate on the approval of the new fishing law and on changes to environmental legislation that impact on fishing activity.

Nádia da Luz Alves da Silva Gomes (Belém): A waste picker, Nádia is the state representative of the National Movement of Waste Pickers (MNCR) and founding director of the Icoaraci Waste Pickers’ Cooperative Visão Pioneira de Icoaraci. (CocaVip). At the MNCR, its work involves identifying, mobilizing, training and organizing cooperatives and associations of waste pickers in the municipalities of Pará.

Ruth Helena Cristo Almeida (Belém): A sociologist, professor, researcher and extension worker at UFRA, Ruth has a degree in Social Sciences, a master’s degree in Sociology and a doctorate in Agricultural Sciences. At CNPq, she coordinates the research group Gender Relations and Amazonian Ruralities, which is in the process of setting up Casa Amazônia, an organization that will train young people in the topics researched. As a lecturer in Rural Sociology, she trains young people to deal with the diversity of Amazonian realities and works with extension projects in peri-urban rural communities on the islands near Belém, focusing on gender and climate relations, climate justice, food and nutritional security and public policies. She is also a leader in the Pará Government’s Gender and Climate Technical Chamber and has evaluated and proposed changes to the State Bioeconomy Policy.

Valeria da Silva Lopes (Santa Bárbara do Pará): A farmer and rural teacher, Valeria has been a member of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) for 25 years, five of them in the state leadership in Pará. She also participates in the MST’s education and training sector, and is responsible for organizing formal and non-formal school spaces. She has a degree in Rural Education with a major in Human Sciences, a specialization in Geography Teaching and a master’s degree in Education. She works with agroecological crops and agroforestry systems; she contributes to the organization of rural farmers’ associations and cooperatives; she teaches human, social and environmental sciences with peasant and rural-riverine communities; and develops rural education projects with Youth and Adult Education (EJA) classes in the area of agricultural sciences.

Veraneize dos Anjos Alves (Belém): A teacher and coordinator of the Indigenous School Education Coordination Office (CEEIND) of the Pará State Department of Education (Seduc), Veraneize works with 43 indigenous peoples in the State. Her duties involve hiring, building schools, visiting communities and providing technical and pedagogical training for Indigenous School Education. She is also a member of the indigenous movement of the Lower Tapajós – in western Pará State, through the Indigenous Awareness Group and the Tapajós and Arapiuns Indigenous Council. She also worked on a radio program called A Hora do Xibé, on Rádio Rural de Santarém. She has a degree in Portuguese and Literature and a master’s degree in Sociocultural Diversity.