My Personality, Background and Motivations….
I have neither a science background nor a rational scientific mind. My BA is in Social Communications with a specialization in Journalism. I graduated at age 25, back in 1995, from Unisinos, a large University in the south of Brazil. When I finished Journalism school, my main goal was to be an international war correspondent for CNN. It turned out that the doors were wider on the sales side of the news industry. Sometimes I do regret that I did not follow my heart then, but perhaps that is part of the reason I am here now. My only connection with the environment then, apart from loving nature, was my thesis on a comparison of the editorial treatment of Time and Veja Magazines on ECO-92 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992).
After almost 12 years working in the media industry, the last seven for Turner Broadcasting System (CNN) in the end of 2006 I was hit with a big questioning phase. It took me two months listing pro’s and con’s to finally decide that I needed to follow my heart and re-focus my career in an area that would bring me more fulfillment. I had this deep need to work for a cause and not just a salary. So, as I gave back my corporate CNN credit card along with my 7 years files, my motivation and initial plan was to start this new phase doing volunteering work in India through a non-profit organization. My goal then was to have enough experience so I could become one of them. At that point I was open to work in either the humanitarian or the environmental fields. While researching for the right NGO, I came across the “Environment Resources Management Master Programme” at Vrije University, NL. As I don’t believe in coincidences and yes synchronicity, that encounter made me reflect that perhaps helping the planet was deeply connected to helping humanity. If our earth is not sustainable, can we really help hunger? So I applied for the program with a new passion in mind: to use my communications and business skills to help the environment and consequently help people have a better quality of life.
My objective and mission….
My main goal with this Masters was to learn more about the biggest environmental problems such as climate change and the possible solutions viewed from an academic perspective. And from what I’ve observed so far, I see that the core of earth’s main problems are deeply related to ethics and values. There is an urgent need to build a new society that respects and protects more, not only the environment but one another. The old formula of prioritizing economic growth inside your own boarders without taking in consideration neighbors nor the planet’s finite resources has failed and needs to be changed. If people don’t change, the environment won’t change. Communication plays a crucial role in the renewal and dissemination of stronger ethics and values that can build the grounds for a new humanity and therefore a sustainable planet. And as an initial contribution, I will write my thesis and produce a documentary on “How ethics and communication can build a sustainable society in a climate changing world?”.
