Social impact can encompass a wide range of ideas and projects that positively affect the communities we live in. We are delighted to showcase a Fulbright alumna working with Human Rights and international law projects that are contributing to a better world.

An Article by Claire Shea (Fulbright/SiPN Intern, Summer 2024)

 

 

  

Catarina Caria – NOW Foreign Affairs Analyst, Podcast Host | União de Facto & Op-Ed Columnist | Revista SÁBADO | “Conversas de Café”, Op-Ed Columnist | JORNAL DE NEGÓCIOS | “Lugar à Mesa”, Advisory Board Member | FDI, Competitiveness & Attractiveness Strategy for Portugal, Advisory Board Member | IPDAL, Advisory Board | Global Health, SDGs & Gender Equality 

Fulbright alumna, Catarina Caria, went to the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and received a degree in Political Science and International Affairs. For her Master’s, she studied at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa and received a degree in Governance, Leadership and Democracy Studies. During the 2020/2021 academic year Catarina researched at the University of Virginia. While she was there, Catarina learned the best practices in leveraging the Women, Peace and Security agenda.  Her research provided insight on how civil society promoted women’s meaningful participation in political life.  

Catarina is currently a Foreign Affairs analyst with NOW, a Podcast Host and Op-Ed Columnist with Revista SÁBADO, an Op-Ed Columnist with Jornal de Negócios, an advisory board member for the Confederação Empresarial de Portugal, Instituto para a Promoção da América Latina e Caraíbas (IPDAL) and the World Health Innovation Summit CIC. 

We interviewed Catarina about how her Fulbright grantee experience in the United States shaped who she is today and the impact she hopes to create in the world of Human Rights and international law. 

1. How do you plan to use your experiences in the United States to help you with your column and podcast? 

My experience as a Fulbright researcher in the University of Virginia opened up so many doors for me. I traveled back and forth between Charlottesville, Washington D.C. and New York to meet with U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Defense’s high-level officials to address the challenges of the Women Peace and Security Agenda implementation in the country. I met with United Nations senior stakeholders and numerous civil society actors involved in the WPS negotiations at the Security Council. I got to see Europe and the world from the other side of the Atlantic. It helped me gain a truly comprehensive view on international affairs and on how things get done in the US. American culture is far different from the Portuguese “way of being”. Americans just go for it. We tend to overthink, scale down and rationalize our ambitions – by questioning and imposing limits on our own potential. But after living in the United States, I knew it was up to me to go after my “why” and make my dreams a reality.  

2. What are some of the biggest challenges you face when it comes to your work now? How do you overcome these challenges?  

My generation no longer “lives to work”. We try to find impact and purpose on what we do during our 9-5. In my group of friends, I’m not the only one pursuing “side hustles” or developing projects that fulfill me outside of my current job. And I think that’s positive. For me, it has definitely helped me overcome one of the challenges I was facing – the lack of space for being creative and thinking outside of the box more often.  

3. If you could have one impact on Portuguese people now and/or in the future, what would it be? 

I like to think of impact as a series of moments that lead up to something bigger than me. If I’m able to contribute to that collective domino effect, then I’ve done my job. I’ve learned that when you are not gatekeeping information or opportunities, when you are connecting the right people, when you are open about your own journey, and you are willing to listen and learn from everyone else in the room, then you can have the biggest impact.  

4. What advice would you give to other Portuguese people who want to apply for a Fulbright grant? 

Think like an American – Just go for it! 

 

Thank you for participating in this series, Catarina! We wish you all the best! 

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