Malena L. B.

Climate change, transitions, sustainability, design thinking, personal development, job market preparation

Completed a double specialization in Global Conflict in the Modern Era & Culture and Politics
Courses on Decentering International Relations. Regionalism in World Politics, Non-State Actors, Security and Conflict, Culture and Politics, Non-Western Actors and Political Theory
Double Thesis on how the climate crisis can catalyze armed conflict and lead to massive refugee flows as a form of ecocide, taking the Syrian Civil War as a case study, awarded with cum laude.

Critical, interactive and creative course on the mediatic and audiovisual representation(s) of gender-based violence, societal structures, the male gaze, and gender relations in language, art and communication

Interdisciplinary degree combining international relations, global history, political economy, sustainability, law, security, culture, and communication.
1 year Course on Arabic Language, Culture, and Politics
BA Dissertation on "SDG 13.2 in The Netherlands: The recognition of 'ecocide' as a crime to tackle climate change" focused on the UN's Agenda regarding international environmental law in the Dutch context, obtained summa cum laude.

Internship at the Fair Finance International project. Assisted with advocacy on pushing financial institutions towards sustainable and human-rights complying practices. Organized events on CSDDD, crafted communications content, and overall worked with the global network of CSOs in different languages. Gained experience in MEAL, project management, finance, communications, and DEI.

Assisting, monitoring, and reporting at the Conferences at the Peace and Justice on topics related to Climate, Conflict, Justice, and Equality

Overseeing the student association's events, projects, meetings, and funding for social, academic, and professional networking among the MA in International Relations community of Leiden University. In coordination with other associations and the university's staff, and in collaboration with academic/government institutions, think tanks, and NGOs.Overseeing the association's events, projects, meetings, and funding for social, academic, and professional networking among the MA in International Relations community of Leiden University. In coordination with other associations and the university's staff, and in collaboration with academic/government institutions, think tanks, and NGOs.

Creating promotional videos for an inter-continental project on empowering young climate activists from Europe and Latin America through the use of audiovisual and media, simultaneous translation between Spanish, English and German, and assisting their projects at the Final CCCB Conference

Starting the commission to empower female academic voices both within and outside the university, expanding gender perspectives on the syllabus, assisting in the organisation of academic events and thematic conferences, monitoring coordination meetings and facilitating communication among and between students, professors and university staff.

Co-organizing and facilitating a high-profile conference on the UN SDGs from around the globe