LocationsArchitecture Experience Transformed into Climate Solutions: A Journey in Climate Resilience with Elena Sentieri, Climate Change Portfolio Manager
September 12, 2024
1. Tell us about yourself: What’s your background/professional experience and what inspired you to work with UNDP Thailand?
I am an architect with specialization in Emergency and Resilience, but I also hold a more recent Master’s degree in Climate Change and Sustainable Development from the University of Cape Town. My two main Master’s dissertations represent the two fields I am most passionate about, namely climate adaptation through Nature Based Solutions and climate communication with focus on youth.
Prior to joining UNDP, I spent 6 years in Mozambique working with UN-Habitat Country Office as Sustainable Human Settlements Coordinator. There, I developed and followed projects implemented both at national level and in sub-Saharan Africa, coordinating with development partners, national and local governments and local communities. The subjects I worked with were mainly related to urban resilience, climate policies and plans, urban and territorial development, metropolitan governance, urban mobility and public spaces, among others.
At the end of 2023, I decided to join the team of UNDP Thailand. I was thrilled, as I find the mandate of UNDP and approach to work very powerful and inspiring, together with the main integration approach. As the mandate is broader than other specialized agencies, it allows us to get a wider impact on the beneficiaries and to focus more on the needs of the most vulnerable, by leaving no one behind.
2. What is a day at the office like?
As a Climate Change Analyst my main function is to coordinate the Country Office Climate Action Portfolio, including managing key climate change projects and to serve as a focal point/advisor for everything that is related to climate. I am also currently coordinating a.i. a GCF project called “Enhancing Climate Resilience in Thailand through Effective Water Management and Sustainable Agriculture”, contributing consistently to the office delivery.
In my daily working life, I mostly spend my time coordinating with the projects’ partners, consultants and UNDP regional counterparts to make the projects activities happen. When it is needed, besides deploying my daily functions related to project management, I also develop new concept notes and project proposals and explore new partnerships to expand the Portfolio.
When my support is requested, I also go occasionally on working missions to the projects’ implementation areas. This is often very exciting as it allows me not only to perform activities’ oversight and support, but also to get closer to the beneficiaries and hear their stories beforehand.
3. What are some of the challenges you encountered you have faced in this role and how have you overcome them?
One of the main challenges of my job is to coordinate effectively with all the different stakeholders collaborating and working around UNDP projects. Much of my daily work is to cultivate partnerships and build trust with partners to be able to achieve this objective. One of the main secrets to doing this is to value teamwork, create a safe environment and to request and value the opinions, recommendations and feedback of every colleague, who might have a different knowledge and understanding of the local context.
4. Tell us about your favorite moment with UNDP Thailand.
My favorite moments with UNDP Thailand have been all the major or minor common achievements with my team. These moments showed me that any challenge can be solved with teamworking and that this has the potential to make the team feel even closer, more consolidated and with a greater sense of ownership. I will always be grateful to my colleagues for always being so enthusiastic, inclusive and collaborative.
5. In what ways does this position enable you to contribute to the achievement of an inclusive and sustainable society?
Climate change is one of the major challenges of our time. Without tackling climate change and its root causes, no future will be possible for any of us. Nevertheless, some people are more vulnerable than others and are disproportionally affected by climate change, thus needing special support and consideration to go through this process. My role as Climate Action Portfolio Manager gives me the opportunity to bring my contributions and being exposed to all the multifaceted aspects of climate change, and thus to bring broader positive impacts by supporting the national efforts in terms of climate change adaptation and mitigation. Moreover, being the UNDP Thailand Climate Action Portfolio very wide, this allows me to bring meaningful contributions from the national level to the local one, thus directly reaching the most vulnerable.
6. How is democratic governance significant to your work in promoting climate action, advancing the rights of vulnerable people, advocating for inclusive and responsive policies or fostering a just and equitable society? And how do you apply a democratic development approach to your work to drive progress in respective areas?
Democratic governance in promoting climate action is crucial to ensure participated decisions and transformative actions. For this reason, most of the activities and projects I manage and supervise include a participatory approach to ensure that everyone is heard and engaged when planning and budgeting for climate action. At the local level, consultations are often undertaken with local communities or CSOs representing them, especially the most vulnerable. At the national level, representatives of vulnerable groups (e.g. youth) are often engaged to exchange their views and experiences with the national government representatives, in order for their voices to be heard and included in the decision making process.
7. What piece of advice would you give to those who are considering applying to #JoinALifeChangingMission with UNDP.
Working for the UN system is a mission and a unique opportunity to bring transformative changes to the world. My advice to who is willing to join #JoinALifeChangingMission with UNDP is to keep your heart and mind open to novelty and learning opportunities, to always remember which is your comparative advantage, your specific skills and characteristics that make you different from the others and that you can deploy in UNDP to bring innovation and make the difference for a better future.
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The Faces of UNDP Thailand is a series to echo the voice of UNDP staff who support UNDP and the community to advance the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Give us 3 words that describe UNDP Thailand: Inclusive, Fair, TransformativeElena Sentieri, Climate Portfolio Manager