ELP Lecture with Chiara Martinelli
On the 12th of April 2022, the fellows of the European Leadership Programme (ELP) had the pleasure of speaking with Chiara Martinelli, director of Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe in Brussels, Europe’s leading NGO coalition fighting dangerous climate change.
Chiara Martinelli has more than 15 years of working experience in the development cooperation sector. Before joining CAN Europe as a director, she was a senior advisor with the International Family of Catholic Social Justice Organisations, CIDSE. Chiara had been leading CIDSE work on climate justice, food and agriculture, energy and sustainable lifestyles which privileged a strong engagement with CAN Europe’s work on tackling the climate emergency and its impacts on the most vulnerable.
In a cozy and safe atmosphere, the pleasant conversation went with the flow, and a wide field of interesting issues was covered and discussed ranging from cross-cutting leadership skills and values, the role of the EU and the civil society, social inequalities, the power of activism, human rights, the Ukrainian crisis, to climate change and the need of a change in the system.
Passionate about having social impact and make people´s life better, she highlighted how the experiences she gained from one year volunteering in Benin and the lessons learned from her academic setting were pivotal in shaping her personal development and the person she is today.
According to her one of the most important skills for being successful in life is resilience, a skill gained by developing coping strategies during difficult times as well as the ability to create good relationships and learn the ability to negotiate with people around you in order to build up agreements that suit both parties in a negotiation.
Furthermore, and in a complementary way, it is important to recognize your vulnerabilities and to find a safe anchor in life that aligns with a developed spirituality, a place where you can find comfort and peace when you must take care of yourself. And, most importantly, develop self-awareness of the impact of our choices and actions in a broader context in terms of going to the next level by embodying our chosen values, having an active role as a citizen/leader in our own communities and effect the change we want to see in the world.
Carolina Chambel
ELP fellow Spring Cohort 2022
