Y4N Role: Global Ambassador
Location: Colombia
Pronouns: She/her
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese.
Fun facts: Putumayo Records CD covers comfort her; Gandhi, Mandela and Martin Luther King are her inspiration to transform society even when all odds seem against us.
Meet Yuliana, a daughter of the Andean Mountain range and an aspiring naturalist deeply intrigued by nature and all its creation. Since her teenage years, Yuliana has been engaged as an activist for animal rights and nature advocacy, supporting mobilizations against bullfighting and animal poaching in her home city Bogotá, Colombia. This passion for nature protection led her to study Biology and Anthropology at Los Andes University in Colombia, where she had the opportunity to go in field trips to remote places in South America like the Amazon rainforest, the Caribbean mangroves, and the tropical forest in the pacific.
For her undergraduate thesis, Yuliana developed a biodiversity assessment in the Serranía de Chiribiquete Natural Park, the most pristine rainforest in Colombia, with the support of the NGO Selva through a research grant. In her professional path, Yuliana has experience working with Indigenous communities monitoring the effects of climate change on their livelihoods, especially around their food production systems.
Her research interest focuses on agroforestry systems, Indigenous Peoples and Local communities’ governance and rights, food sovereignty, youth advocacy and mobilization for nature, and grassroots initiatives. Yuliana loves learning about plants and ethnobotanics, aspiring to become an herbalist one day. Her friends and colleagues would describe her as a people person, with a bubbly personality and an almost never-ending upbeat energy.
As an activist, Yuliana has supported the development of multiple urban community gardens in Bogotá and has been part of the organization of documentary festivals around the topic of Nature Advocacy. As well, Yuliana has been part of the student movement as a human rights defender during multiple mobilizations held in Bogotá.
During her leisure time, you will find Yuliana enjoying the outdoors, discovering new places and coffee shops, and attending cultural events or museums. She loves dancing, especially salsa, and one of her life goals is to attend all the festivals and carnivals held in her home country Colombia.
Connect with Yuliana on Linkedln 🌱