LUCIA SUCARI

Lucía is from Argentina. She has a degree in Communication Sciences from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) and she has oriented her professional career towards the communication of social, non-governmental, and third-sector organisations. In her postgraduate studies Lucia has specialised in direction and management of social organisations at the Universidad de San Andrés (UdeSA) and she has also trained in a communication programme for civil society organisations at the Universidad Austral.

“It is important the cooperation between the private and public sector to develop long-lasting impact projects”

Q: Tell us a few things about you! Your background, your childhood and early beginnings!

My name is Lucía Sucari and I am from Argentina. I was born in Buenos Aires where I currently live. I have a degree in Communication Sciences and I have oriented my professional career towards the communication of social, non-governmental and third-sector organisations. In my postgraduate studies I have specialised in direction and management of social organisations and I have also trained in a communication programme for civil society.

I am responsible for communication projects in the mentioned sector, seeking to generate a lasting impact on the lives of communities and, in particular, on girls, adolescents and women lives. I have a deep interest, studies and experience in issues related to sexual, reproductive and non-reproductive rights of adolescents as well as gender and diversity issues.

I am currently working in Fundación Kaleidos, an Argentine NGO specialised in pregnancy, maternity and paternity in adolescence.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

I grew up seeing how the lack of comprehensive sex education had great consequences on my friends and classmates. The non-compliance of sexual and reproductive rights leads to the reproduction of gender inequalities and violence and the intergenerational reproduction of poverty. In Argentina 80% of high school students say they do not have access to Comprehensive Sexual Education (CSE) and 60% of the teachers say they are not trained enough to teach CSE. This situation is repeated in other Latin American countries. Not receiving sexual education at school has made me see a lot of situations of gender violence, unintentional pregnancies and the perpetuation of gender stereotypes.

At the same time, although I believe that humanity has progressed a lot, we have to continue working so that there are more opportunities for young people and fewer violated rights. I want to contribute to a healthy and integrated social environment in the lives of people where, in turn, they are empowered and generate community ties to fight for their wishes and rights. Capitalism is changing and I think we are in a moment in which a new form is taking shape.

Q: Share with us some of the hurdles that you had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them?

The hurdles I'm facing today have to do with networking. The little visibility and awareness that the world has about the power of working in a community has, is one of the biggest challenges I encounter. The State, civil society and the private sector must understand that they must work together to make the change. I believe it is important that people understand that it is essential to have different perspectives on a problem and to work together in an interdisciplinary way.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you?

The role of a mentor is important because it allows me to ask myself new questions with the guide of a person. Also, it globalises my gaze with someone who is not from my country, enriching my ideas and questions and enabling new environments with the aim of impacting the lives of the communities and especially when it comes to sexual and reproductive health of girls, adolescents and women.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share?  

I have learnt about the importance of cooperation between the private and public sector to develop long-lasting impact projects. I firmly believe in the power of network and community to build a vision of a future and to address social problems.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives! 

Jakairá (www.fundacionkaleidos.org/jakaira) is a free care program in Argentina dedicated to adolescents in general and specifically to adolescents who are mothers and fathers and their sons and daughters.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are being made towards gender equality?

Pregnancy and maternity adolescence decreases the probability that women have of finishing high school by 17% and that of finishing tertiary or university studies by 11% compared to women who postpone their motherhood to the first decade of their adult life (20 to 29 years of age).

In turn, adolescent pregnancy negatively affects the employment trajectories of these women, hindering the possibility of entering the labour market and accessing quality jobs. Also, based on the experience in accompanying adolescents who are mothers, it is possible to affirm that physical and psychological abuse is presented as an obstacle to educational trajectories. In the last study carried out based on the evaluation of the graduates of the programme, it was possible to see that only 26% of the young victims of abuse managed to obtain their secondary degree, being considerably lower than the percentage of young women who had not been victims of abuse (53%).

Finally, as the income level of women depends on their educational level, women who are mothers in adolescence see their possibility of generating higher incomes from more qualified jobs diminished, compared to those women who postpone their motherhood to the first decade of adulthood.

In Argentina, the labour income of women who do not finish high school is 40% lower than those of women who complete that level of education.

Q: Share with us a motto you live by.

Healing is dispelling the belief that differences exist.

Q: If you had all the money needed to launch the project of your dreams, can you describe what you would do?

This project would work on how health professionals - and society in general - accompany maternity adolescents in hospitals. This project will not only target adolescent mothers, but will also focus on all health personnel. Through educational and interactive initiatives, I hope to create a loving, reciprocal relationship between medical professionals and patients so that pregnant and parenting teens feel supported and empowered.

Q: Anything else that you may wish to add? 

Thanks for letting me be part of this programme!