What does “bottom-up” mean when building climate change and health systems resilience among Indigenous communities?

The Priestley Centre is delighted to welcome Dr Carol Zavaleta, winner of the 2024 Piers Sellers Prize, to the University of Leeds in October 2024.

In this talk, Dr Zavaleta will present her experience as an Indigenous scholar working in Peru and living in Bolivia. From her clinical medical practice with Indigenous patients to her international research on climate change and health systems, working with researchers around the world, she will reflect on the local context, the importance of involving Indigenous leaders and policymakers, and the relevance of supporting the next generation of scientists to work with cultural sensitivity to address both the climate crisis and health system challenges. She will also discuss the co-construction of methodologies and the use of Indigenous knowledge to respond to climate change.

Refreshments will be served after the event.

Please register to attend in person. If you would like to join the seminar online, please register via Zoom.

Dr Carol Zavaleta, from the Cayetano Heredia University, is the first medical researcher in Peru to study the impacts of climate change on the nutrition of remote Indigenous populations. Originally trained as a medical doctor, Dr Zavaleta now leads initiatives to recognise and promote the use of Indigenous knowledge in the Peruvian health system. She contributes her expertise to global committees focused on both sustainable healthcare and Indigenous and local knowledge. In June 2024 she was awarded the Piers Sellers Prize as recognition of her world leading contribution to climate solutions. In August 2024 Dr Zavaleta was named as one of the 50 most powerful women in Peru by Forbes magazine.