By Abigail Headley
When Alisha Koulen stumbled on the opportunity to participate in the pre-COP28 event held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), she had no idea it would be a life-changing experience. The October 30 to 31 event was designed to provide a space for facilitating climate change dialogues and collaboration among a diverse group of delegates, party members, and representatives from various constituencies in a single location.
“Representing Guyana as the sole youth delegate was both an honour and a profound responsibility. I felt the pressure, but I knew it was a unique opportunity to share from my country’s perspectives and experiences. I was acutely aware of the significance of this role in advocating for the interests and priorities of Guyana and the Caribbean region as a whole. Overall, it was an empowering experience, but also a source of pride to represent my country in such crucial discussions,” she said.
Koulen’s journey to pre-COP28 was a fortuitous one. “I’m always on the lookout for opportunities in the climate change field, especially since, in my opinion, there are limited professional and capacity-building options available in Guyana. So, I came across the call for youth delegates and without much thought, I quickly filled out the application. It took me less than 20 minutes. I didn’t even read all the programme details; I was just eager to sign up for anything that I could learn and develop my skills,” the young woman recounted.
When she received the email saying she was shortlisted, Koulen realised how significant the opportunity really was. Then came one of the main challenges she faced during the event; managing her time effectively.
“I work as an Operations Manager at STEM Guyana which takes up much of my time and it’s a very involved and interactive job. The international youth climate delegate programme ran a series of sessions weekly, where we met virtually and were exposed to simulations that taught us skills to negotiate at COP. There were also sessions held by various organisations like UNFCCC, UNDP, IPCC, YOUNGO (youth constituency for UNFCCC) and other key players in the climate change world. These sessions were all provided for us to have dialogues, ask questions and understand how these organisations contribute towards climate actions. Needless to say, managing those sessions at various hours due to time zone differences, along with every other day to day activities, was quite a challenge,” she related.
This challenge did not phase her, as she recalled diligently scheduling everything in her phone so that she didn’t miss any meetings. Doing this, and planning ahead helped her to stay on top of things.
At the official opening ceremony of the event, Koulen was tasked with presenting an opening statement. This, according to her, was a nerve-wracking experience, but she believed it helped her overcome her fear of public speaking.
As time progressed, she was able to gain a better sense of how things flowed, where and how to engage. During pre-COP28, Koulen, along with other youth delegates, launched the Global Youth Statement. This initiative sought to record the collective youth from across the globe and non-profit organisation constituencies and collect their feedback on what climate action should look like. International leaders were encouraged to do more in areas such as climate equity and financing, given that countries like Guyana are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Koulen’s humble beginning did not deter her from following her passion for learning despite limited resources growing up. In fact, in a way, it served to motivate her to never give up on her dreams.
“I was born and raised in Sophia… a very poor underprivileged community… Back then, when I resided there, it was just little houses and a lot of trees all around. We didn’t even have electricity, so I spent all my childhood years, into high school, without electricity… And even when they had electricity, we were too poor to be able to afford electricity during my high school years,” she recalled.
The only child for her mother, Koulen recalled garnering support from both her mom and stepfather, who did the best that they could to assist her. However, most of her motivation to pursue her academic studies came from herself.
She attended North Georgetown Primary School and Brickdam Secondary. “[Brickdam Secondary] wasn’t any of the top… schools at the time. [It] wasn’t in the top three or even in the top five, but it was a reasonable school. I still suffered, because while many of my peers had access to… different things like technology and even laptops and so on, I struggled. Nobody really knew by the looks of it. People thought I was doing okay, but I was coming from a home where there was a limited supply, limited electricity,” she explained.
Because she didn’t have access to a computer, Koulen was unable to do Information Technology, a subject that she really liked. She noted that her family’s situation only took a turn for the better towards the end of her high school life.
Not being able to pursue the studies she wanted, Koulen took a detour and pursued an undergraduate degree in biology. “I didn’t really have a plan, because most Caribbean parents want you to be a doctor or a lawyer. So, the idea was to go and do one year biology and then head over to medicine. But when I finished my one-year biology, I realised I couldn’t do medicine. You know, I didn’t want to do medicine. I had no interest.
But then what was I going to do with this biology degree? I just went ahead and finished it, but I didn’t have any plan,” she stated.
In 2014, freshly graduated from university, Koulen found it difficult to acquire a job related to the field. Noting that her family was still in dire financial need at the time, she decided to pursue teaching in order to assist with household bills.
“So, I went to teach. I was a high school teacher, Science teacher at Kingston Secondary. It wasn’t a job that I saw for myself, but it was what was available. So I took it and I learned so much during my years there teaching. I would like to say that I came out actually being very comfortable with teaching. It wasn’t my true passion, but I loved it. Because it was always a part of me somehow,” she related.
Koulen later decided not to remain in the profession for long, but gave herself up to three years to get back on track with pursuing what she really wanted to do. By the third year, the opportunity arose, through a friend, to study for a Masters in Biodiversity Conservation at Sustainable Development at the University of the West Indies (UWI), and she grabbed it.
The opportunity came with a fully paid scholarship, and so housing, transportation, food, and tuition costs were all covered and best of all it was non-contractual.
Koulen completed her studies at UWI and returned to Guyana with the high anticipation that she would be able to secure a better job, swiftly, in her field and thenceforth have a better life. Much to her disappointment, none was forthcoming. “I applied every single place where I could think about; all the ministries, all the governmental bodies, all the universities… and nothing. I was so frustrated that I felt like I just wanted to leave Guyana because you have all these qualifications as a young person, but there’s no job for you. And when they do have jobs, [they’re] offering you pay at a very small amount,” she recounted.
Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and everything was shut down, including her chance of finding a job in Guyana. Nonetheless, she persisted by searching for online jobs and stumbled on an internship offered by the Department of Environment, Antigua and Barbuda.
She was successful in securing a three months internship position in the data entry unit. After her probation period, she was offered a place as an apprentice. She worked remotely, dealing with regional and international stakeholders on a project called Initiative for Climate Action Transparency. However, the apprenticeship ended in a year.
She eventually landed a job in 2022 at STEM Guyana, where she received mentorship and developed project and coordination skills.
“I … applied fully knowing that I was overqualified for the job. And just thinking to myself, I just need something to hold me over until I find something else because Guyana has no opportunities for me,” Koulen explained.
“When I talked to the director the first time I was immediately impressed and I wanted the job. I got the job… three days later she called me and said you got the job. Within the first three months, there were so much changes to what I originally signed onto, but in a good way. She trusted me with the process. She allowed me to really showcase my talents and my skills,” she added.
She said she learned many things about herself, like the fact that she’s good at project management, and coordinating. The director, she said, allowed her to thrive under guidance.
“She believed in me; she always kind of just let me handle it. And I think that belief system that she had in me allowed me to really flourish as an individual,” she said.
Koulen said her future goals have shifted from her initial wish to have a well-paying job to advocating for the Guyanese youth, especially in the STEM education field. She hopes to empower and inspire young professionals who, like she was, are faced with limited access and opportunity. She noted that, ultimately, whatever she decides to do, it will be in the climate change industry and STEM field, and she hopes it will be used to help the youth right here in Guyana.
The 31-year-old credits much of her success to her mother, who never failed in encouraging her to strive for greater heights. She also credits who she is today to Director of STEM Guyana Karen Abrams, who always believed in her abilities. Koulen’s small group of friends have also been instrumental in lending her support, in some way or the other, when she needed it.
COP28 will be held in Dubai, UAE from November 30 to December 12.
