Paula Gutierrez Martinez

Global Green Growth Institute
Colombia

Sep 2, 2024

Paula Gutierrez Martinez is a social anthropologist with nearly 20 years of experience. Throughout her career, she has worked across various fields, bringing her expertise to political education, democracy, peace and conflict, sustainable infrastructure, urban development, green growth and climate action. Her diverse roles have taken her from grassroots educational initiatives to large-scale sustainable development projects, demonstrating her commitment to creating a more equitable and sustainable world.

Paula began her academic journey with a Bachelor's degree in anthropology from Universidad Nacional de Colombia. She furthered her studies with a Master of Arts in social sciences, specializing in global studies, from Albert-Ludwig University in Freiburg, Germany. This academic foundation equipped her with an understanding of political science and sociology of globalization that she applied in her early work with a German foundation in Colombia focused on political and democracy education for youth.

Paula also worked in the field of peace and conflict, supporting the reintegration of ex combatants from paramilitary and guerrilla groups. Later, she collaborated with Colombia’s Ministry of Education to develop human rights and democracy education programs. Her commitment to education continued with a project called Sustainable Green Infrastructure for Schools – Ola Escolar. This initiative’s aim was to reconstruct school buildings affected by floods, having into consideration the diverse climatic conditions of various regions of Colombia, and promoting the engagement of the community through participatory architectural design. One of her proudest moments was witnessing a classroom in a town with an average temperature of 35°C that did not require air conditioning due to its sustainable design.

Building on this work, Paula expanded her focus to sustainable buildings from a social science perspective, developing participatory tools for engaging various stakeholders. She later joined the Sustainable Cities project with GIZ in Ecuador, where she worked on participatory design in public spaces, risk management, security, and mobility. Paula now works with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in Bogotá, Colombia. As the GESI Associate, she integrated Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) approaches throughout GGGI’s project cycle management. She also supported capacity development, implemented Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS), and designed participatory and strategic planning processes. Her efforts contributed to the development of the GESI Global Biannual Action Plan for GGGI.

Paula is also interested in innovative tools for education and citizen’s engagement. In Lesotho and South Africa, she explored the use of documentaries in social projects. During her first stay in southern Africa, she contributed to a global documentary project for development called "Why Poverty?" where she developed educational material to make complex environmental issues understandable. Paula’s interests lie particularly in sustainable urban development, recognizing the challenges that cities face as they grow and the importance of making them more livable. She draws inspiration from innovative urban leaders and believes in the power of behavioral change to improve city life. Her recent work has focused on energy transition in Colombia, promoting energy communities as a model for sustainable energy production and consumption.

Paula is passionate about interdisciplinarity in her work, she has navigated challenges, especially when collaborating with finance and engineering professionals. She acknowledges that social science changes are often slower and more resource-intensive compared to work on natural sciences; at the same time, investments of time and resources are necessary to finding the right strategies for long-term impact. She advises young people to pursue their passions while remaining open to new paths and allow life to surprise them with unexpected opportunities.

For Paula, environmental peacebuilding means uniting people and nature for a better, sustainable, and just world. She stresses the need of integrating conflict-sensitive approach into environmental and climate action, recognizing the linkages between socio economic inequalities and the unsustainable management of natural resources. Looking to the future, she envisions a world where individuals can have all the conditions to  develop their full potential as human beings and no one is left behind.