Africa G. Zanella

Africa G. Zanella is an innovative thinker, a social scientist ,with a distinguished career in international relations and sustainability, in which she challenges traditional approaches to problem solving. She has been appointed to the World Bank Climate Investment Fund for the 2021-2023 period as a Civil Society Observer and, recently, also Focal Point for Gender.

She is an accredited expert in Women’s Empowerment, Economic Growth and Green Industry for the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). She has special skills in the alignment of SDG 5 (Equality) with relevant SDGs to ensure that women play an important role in economic and social development and contribute to the wellbeing and survival of people and the planet.

She was Director of Waste Management , Executive Director of International Trade with the Australian Government and in 2015 set up the Centre for Sustainability and Gender Economics (CSGE) in Spain, looking at issues relating to women social and economic roles.In 2022, she was appointed Gender Equality Officer at LifeWatch ERIC, the European e-Science Infrastructure for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, which through its innovative research tools and resources contributes to making a social, economic and environmental difference in fighting climate change.