Celebrating the new GJCS awardees and 10 years of transformative impact

With so much alarming news about the growing climate crisis, it is both a comfort and a powerful source of motivation to see the inspiring leadership of women in all their diversity driving change in their communities. We are proud to present the awardees of the Gender Just Climate Solutions 2025, marking a special 10th anniversary edition of this global initiative championing gender-responsive climate action.

This year’s awardees, coming from Costa Rica-Nicaragua, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Bolivia, were celebrated during a ceremony held at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil. The innovative and inclusive solutions lead by Tatiana Mijaela Quiroga, Patricia Kasoki  and Christy Martinez remind us that climate justice cannot be achieved without a feminist, intersectional approach.

The 2025 edition of the GJCS, an initiative of the Women and Gender Constituency and WECF, is exceptional not only for this milestone celebration but also for setting a record: with 517 eligible applications received from around the world. Each project demonstrates the creativity, resilience, and expertise of women and gender-diverse people working on the frontlines of climate change.

This event demonstrated once again that the solutions for the climate crisis already exist, they are effective, equitable, and ready to be scaled up. What we need now is to give them the visibility, recognition and resources they deserve.

The awardees

Tatiana Mijaela Quiroga
Tatiana Mijaela is a voice that refused to be silenced by history. Growing up, she witnessed first-hand how oppression sought to marginalise the leadership and wisdom of Indigenous women, a reality made unbearable by the slow death of the sacred Pacha. That urgency ignited her path: to forge a journey of resilience and action.

Determined, she has worked to become a guardian who interweaves ancestral knowledge with scientific innovation. Her passion is not only to restore hope within her community and ensure genuine inclusion for all, but also to demonstrate that Indigenous women are the visionary leaders Bolivia needs to secure harmony with Pachamama (Mother Earth).

Patricia Kasoki
Patricia Kasoki is a young Congolese activist committed to social and environmental justice. Born in 1996 in the midst of armed conflicts, linked in particular to territorial occupation and the exploitation of resources in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, she grew up as a direct witness to the violence, inequalities, and injustices suffered especially by women. Refusing to remain a spectator, she became involved early on in citizen movements, grassroots organizations including women’s collectives, and the media sector.

In 2021, she founded the Badilika Center, a local non-profit association inspired by a radio program she hosted on human rights and natural resources at the time in the rural commune of Kanyabayonga, still in the eastern part of the country.

In 2022, she received the Georges Atkins Communication Award from the Canadian organization Farm Radio International (FRI) for a program dedicated in particular to the land rights of rural women. During the same period, she co-founded Jambo Radio alongside Madame Béatrice Mbuyi and Mr. Joseph Tsongo. Today, she continues her fight for information, advocacy, empowerment, and the amplification of the voices of local and Indigenous communities, particularly those of women in the Congo Basin in the DRC.

Christy Melissa Martínez Núñez
Christy Melissa Martínez Núñez is a 26-year-old Nicaraguan human rights defender, lawyer, and Advocacy Manager at Fundación Sin Límites. She leads training and support programmes for refugee women and young people, helping them rebuild their life projects while strengthening their leadership skills. Her work focuses on advancing academic freedom, promoting youth reading initiatives, and ensuring meaningful youth participation in decision-making spaces through education, dialogue, and collective action.

Having lived as a refugee in Costa Rica for the past four years, Christy has devoted her work to supporting displaced communities while advocating for the dignity and potential of people experiencing forced displacement. She believes that being a refugee should never define or limit how far we can dream, aspire, and achieve.

Christy is a member of the Youth Sounding Board of the European Union (2025–2027) and took part in Harvard Climate Action Week, representing young voices committed to justice and the creation of more sustainable and inclusive futures.

Read on to explore how their work is driving real change!

Uru Uru Team

Indigenous communities living in the Bolivian Andean highlands have witnessed how illegal mining and plastic pollution are killing the ecosystem of Lake Uru Uru, their main source of livelihood. To restore it, the Uru Uru team, led by indigenous women, has implemented a nature-based technological solution that combines traditional ecological knowledge with circular economy principles. Upcycling the plastic that invades the lake, they build floating rafts where they plant totora reeds or aquatic plants that filter heavy metals, purifying the water and making it suitable for domestic use and irrigation. 200 women participating in the project receive training in planning the planting of the totora reeds, as well as in the construction of the floating rafts.

Gustavo Blanco receiving the Technical Solutions Award in name of Tatiana Mijaela Quiroga, representing Uru Uru Team

Joseph Tsongo receiving the Non-Technical Solutions Award in name of Patricia Kasoki, representing Jambo Radio

Jambo Radio

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where extractivism, climate crises, and humanitarian emergencies intersect, Jambo Radio is amplifying the voices of women and Indigenous peoples through community media. Since 2023, this grassroots platform has combined radio programs, online podcasts, listener clubs, and community debates. Its participatory approach prioritizes women’s perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge. By debunking climate misinformation, facilitating dialogue, and documenting community-based solutions, this solution builds adaptive capacity while defending forests and ecosystems. With its blend of ancestral wisdom, digital innovation, and feminist advocacy, Jambo Radio is redefining how media can drive climate and gender justice.

Fundación Sín Limites para El Desarrollo Humano

This project supports displaced youth and women from Nicaragua, many of whom have migrated due to climate-related disasters. Fundación Sin Límites para el Desarrollo Humano strengthens the leadership and resilience of displaced and at-risk communities. The organization has supported more than 700 women in Nicaragua and in exile through training, leadership development, and psychosocial support, fostering emotional well-being and collective empowerment. Working alongside Afro-descendant and Indigenous communities, the foundation conducts participatory research on migration, gender, and democracy, while monitoring territorial threats such as deforestation, extractivism, and illegal mining.

Christy Melissa Martínez Núñez receiving the Transformational Solutions Award, representing Fundación Sín Limites para El Desarrollo Humano

About the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC) : https://womengenderclimate.org/
The lead of the GJCS program, a coalition of 64 NGOs established in 2009, with official observer status since 2011. Demanding full realization of women’s rights, gender justice, and environmental protection throughout all UNFCCC processes and Agenda 2030.

Photo credits: Olga Leiria