Semas discusses bioeconomy and public policies at Women's Leadership Forum
The event brought together community leaders, entrepreneurs, public managers, academics, and representatives of social movements to discuss the challenges and opportunities of women's presence in decision-making spaces.
The State Secretariat for Environment, Climate and Sustainability (Semas) participated last Tuesday (10) in the "Women's Leadership Forum - They Ahead: Encouragement for Women to Advance in Leadership Positions," held at the State University Center of Pará (Cesupa) in Belém. The event brought together community leaders, entrepreneurs, public managers, academics, and representatives of social movements to discuss the challenges and opportunities of women's presence in decision-making spaces.
Representing Semas, the Deputy Secretary of Bioeconomy, Camille Bemerguy, highlighted during the meeting the strengthening of female leadership in environmental public policies and bioeconomy. Currently, the deputy secretary coordinates initiatives such as the Bioeconomy Plan and the implementation of the Amazon Bioeconomy and Innovation Park, which expand the participation of Pará and the Amazon in national and international forums.
“In recent years, we have gained speaking spaces. Before, we almost only received ready-made policies, from a distorted perspective. Now we can bring our voice to build together,” explained Camille.
The secretary also emphasized that 85% of the Bioeconomy Secretariat's team is composed of women and that, on the national scene, there are increasingly more female managers occupying strategic positions, such as the national secretary of Bioeconomy, Carina Pimenta, and the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva.
“We have made great progress. In the past, in areas like finance, women were hardly seen. More examples are emerging, more women are being brought into this space,” she added.
Among the participants was Adriana Lima, coordinator of the Women's Movement of the Islands of Belém, who has been working for 26 years in organizing women from the Island of Cotijuba. She reported that her involvement began in her youth, accompanying her mother in the community association.
“I never saw myself as a leader. I always saw myself as a worker of the association. But I realized that our role is, in addition to acting, to encourage other women to take on leadership,” highlighted Adriana Lima.
The coordinator emphasized that the association maintains a statute in which men can participate but cannot hold coordination positions, as a way to ensure female protagonism in decisions.
The participants reinforced that the challenges of leading remain, but they assessed that the example and occupation of strategic spaces are fundamental to empower other women and ensure that public policies reflect the realities of the Amazonian territories.
Text: Mário Gouveia/ Ascom Semas
