Laveza

“Advancing gender equality is most important to me. I believe more attention and effort needs to be made to ensure we are supporting and uplifting women and girls both domestically and internationally. There is a considerable amount of work that needs to be done to address factors like conflict and war, poverty, access to health care and equal opportunity which continue to disadvantage women and girls from succeeding. As a woman of the South-Asian diaspora, advocating for gender equality means talking about power and privilege, challenging gender and cultural norms and understanding the different intersections of my identity in shaping my lived experience.”

Laveza is 25 and a Member Outreach & Government Relations Coordinator at the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation. Her work allows her “to engage civil society, private sector, and multiple levels of government to work collectively to advance sustainable development in Alberta, Canada and internationally.” Her proudest achievement is that she was “selected to attend and participate as an official Canadian delegate for the High-level Political Forum at the United Nations.” She continued, “this is my proudest accomplishment because this opportunity is monumental to the unfolding of my career. I’ve dreamt of the moment in which I would stand within the United Nations feeling a sense of pride of how far I’ve come while being able to envision the years that await me.” Laveza’s hobbies include reading books, particularly by women of colour and from different diasporas, and finding herself in new environments that will offer her a new perspective. The one thing Laveza knows for sure is that “there is immense power in people mobilizing for causes/issues they are passionate about and their ability to transpire change.” She hopes that she is perceived as a leader, an advocate, and an ally.

Q&A Feature:

What is your favourite quality about yourself?

“My favourite quality is my commitment to the work I do.”

What is your biggest hope?

“My biggest hope is that the work I do continues to bring contentment to my life, and that it shapes my ability to build a better world and leaves a lasting impact.”