Hi! My name is Anna Maria Bracio and I just graduated from the Master’s program Leadership for Sustainability at Malmö University with a B.A. in International Economics and Development.
What is your idea?
My idea “ClimateSpace.” is a combination of the expression of my personal inability to sit silent amidst the global Climate Crisis. It is driven by active hope, resilience, compassion, and love for our world. ClimateSpace. lives through collaborations with organizations, professionals, individuals, and communities to address knowledge-action gaps, challenges, and barriers in mitigating and adapting to the Climate Crisis. This can be in the form of events such as workshops or trainings, but also longer-term research and development projects, depending on the challenge and their needs. Because there cannot be enough of us involved and active to turn things around! A key focus for ClimateSpace. is hereby effective climate communication and education.
How did you come up with your idea?
I have been active and involved in environmental and social sustainable development projects, organizations, and events since I started my Bachelor’s in 2016. Over the years, I have developed a strong drive to bring people and resources together around sustainability challenges and solutions, while also loving to organize and come up with different project ideas. Through my Master’s, I started to focus more on the Climate Crisis. I have realized that oftentimes, people and organizations who are already working on solutions already have a vast amount of knowledge, networks, and experience. However, they may not be able to reach their full potential in addressing even more effective climate-based solutions due to lack of resources, high workloads, or other reasons. This is where my passion for organizing, ideating, and initiating projects come to play. I especially focus on supporting these initiatives, individuals and organizations who have a drive to make a change or have identified significant knowledge-action gaps or needs in the market or their communities, to then work together to develop and implement solutions. By getting engaged with Drivhuset, I realized that I could actually use these ideas and the passion I have to startup.
What were the first steps you took when you started working on your idea?
The first more concrete steps I took were booking guidance sessions and taking part in the Level Up Program from Drivhuset. This enabled me to look at my ideas and interests from a completely new perspective. I experimented a lot by reaching out to people, organizing events, conducting research, and taking simple steps like listening to podcasts and reading articles. This helped me to understand certain problems better and what is needed. It’s probably also good to say that my idea changed a lot over the last few months and is still in the process of crystalizing completely.
What are your tips for starting up?
Combining your personal interests and topics you are curious about with identifying what is needed in the market or in a community. Situating yourself to be surrounded by other engaged and curious individuals or organizations and just taking the time to listen to people and their experiences. I have learned that it is truly key to pay attention to what people are struggling with, which challenges or barriers they are facing with something. This may lead you to the problem you want to solve with your idea. The world is full of inspiration, stories and information on problems that need solving and people, communities and environments that are facing challenges that need critical, creative, patient, and compassionate minds and problem-solvers to support them, like you!
What are your next steps?
ClimateSpace. currently has several projects that I am starting to work on in collaboration with other agencies and individuals focused on sustainability. It will require a bit more reflection and organization to get them rolling, especially since a few of the projects require funding applications.. So, a lot of management and organization!
How can people contact you?
You can contact me via LinkedIn: Anna Maria Bracio. I’m very happy to connect and exchange thoughts and ideas and discuss potential collaborations on how we can make an impact to address the Climate Crisis together.
Follow Annas entrepreneurial journey and add her on LinkedIn here!
