My personal mission is to promote equality opportunities and empower individuals to reach their full potential. My life experiences, including the struggle against a lack of opportunities and gender bias, shaped my determination to create a fairer and more inclusive world.
Nuricel Aguilera - Founder and Director of Alpha Lumen Institute
2024 WE Empower UN SDG Challenge Finalist, Latin America and Caribbean Region
Nuricel Villalonga Aguilera’s journey into the realm of entrepreneurship and social change is a testament to her commitment to promoting equal opportunities and empowering individuals to reach their full potential. Her life, shaped by personal struggles against a lack of opportunities and gender bias, fueled her determination to create a fairer and more inclusive world. In 2013, Nuricel Aguilera founded a new NGO aimed at opening a social school - Alpha Lumen Institute. Under her leadership as director, this initiative works to nurture gifted individuals, transforming them into community leaders who could drive positive change locally and globally.
Inspiration for change
Aguilera excelled as a teacher, manager, and researcher. This experience allowed her to visit hundreds of schools across Brazil, where she witnessed firsthand the immense potential of countless bright minds who lacked access to quality education and opportunities. Driven to make a difference, Aguilera began developing courses and workshops in public schools in 1995. Her efforts culminated in the founding of the NGO Escola Aberta in 2007, which focused on developing projects in schools within vulnerable regions.
Aguilera’s entrepreneurial journey is a testament to her unwavering commitment to promoting equality and empowering individuals to reach their full potential. Her personal mission is rooted in her life experiences, which include battling against a lack of opportunities and gender bias. These challenges fueled her determination to create a fairer and more inclusive world.
Commitment to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
These efforts directly contribute to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Aguilera and her team’s work continues to drive systemic change through holistic education, innovative technology, and collaborative partnerships (SDG 4: Quality Education). Through strategic partnerships with renowned institutions like UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), Aguilera amplifies her impact, promoting education initiatives both locally and globally (SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals). Her initiatives, such as the Mobile Maker Lab, bring technology and STEM education to underserved communities, bridging the gap and providing equal opportunities for all students (SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities). Aguilera is also a staunch advocate for gender equality, actively promoting women into leadership positions and supporting women-owned businesses (SDG 5: Gender Equality).
Aguilera’s work spans diverse areas, emphasizing the multidimensional nature of human beings. She firmly believes that education is the key to creating diversified and sustainable solutions, empowering individuals to tackle the world's challenges with ethics and values.
I firmly believe that education is the key to diversified and sustainable solutions, empowering individuals to face the world's challenges with ethics and values.
By Grace Reiter, WE Empower Intern