grantees » Nicole Szucs Guzman
Nicole Szucs Guzman, Bolivia
This grantee is still in the process of their leadership development with the JWH initiative. This profile will be completed once the grantee has finalised their activities.
One can’t help but be impressed with the experience and achievements that our grantee Nicole Szucs Guzmán has accomplished. Nicole is 27 years old and has either been employed or volunteered in various NGOs in Bolivia and the United States concerning environmental topics such as food security, food conservation and ecotourism. Her academic and professional ambitions have led her to participate in various international conferences as youth delegate in Poland, Denmark and Brazil.
Nicole currently works as technician at Fundación Tierra (FT), an NGO dedicated to finding proposals for sustainable rural development of indigenous and peasant groups. Here she performs research on land issues such as food security and land tenure. Her nominator proudly comments on how Nicole often shows “her capacity to lead all kinds of people and projects, regardless (of) the place and circumstances.”
Nicole has a strong desire to work towards peace in Bolivia through environmental security and proper natural resource management. She knows that this demands a higher level of knowledge and experience as an environmental leader, which in turn has led her towards applying for a JWH Initiative grant. Nicole has used her grant to follow a Masters in Environmental Security and Governance with a specialization in Climate Change Security at the prestigious University for Peace in Costa Rica. This one year program focuses on a better understanding of the multiple relationships between climate change and international, national and local security problems. It also focuses on the important role of the international community in influencing climate change.
Nicole’s many travels have not made her forget where her heart truly belongs, and of the goals she wishes to accomplish back home in Bolivia once her studies are finished.
I believe these skills and knowledge that I will acquire in this Master´s program are highly needed in order to work towards peace through environmental security and good natural resource management. I know it is a big aim, nonetheless, step by step (it) is achievable.