Chevening alumna María Fernanda Souza shares how studying in the UK with Chevening helped her to find her voice and become a key figure in climate change leadership.
When María Fernanda Souza received the news she’d been awarded a Chevening Scholarship in 2020, she was working closely with rural producers in Uruguay, ensuring they had access to new climate technologies. But her Chevening Scholarship would soon mark a turning point in her career, not just in professional trajectory, but in how she understood the climate crisis itself.
Today, as Uruguay’s Director of Climate Change and a key figure in Latin America’s international climate diplomacy, Maria credits studying in the UK with Chevening as the catalyst.
It was during this experience that I fully understood the power and necessity of having women from the Global South at the decision-making table… Chevening helped me find my voice, and now I plan to use it to keep opening doors for others.
Maria completed an MSc in Global Environmental Politics and Society at the University of Edinburgh in 2021.
‘I chose the programme because it combined two dimensions that are central to me: the political analysis of environmental issues and the interdisciplinary study of development processes,’ she explains.
‘The modules on Global Environmental Politics and Environment and Development were particularly transformative… They challenged me to question my assumptions and rethink the role of power in shaping environmental outcomes.’
Before the scholarship, Maria saw climate policy largely through a technical lens. But at the University of Edinburgh, she encountered frameworks that exposed the deeper structural forces driving environmental injustice.
Maria began to see that the issue was not just about technology, but about power: about who gets to decide, whose voices are heard, and whose knowledge is recognised. One module in particular, Integrated Water Resource Management, reshaped her focus.
‘It helped me understand water as a natural resource, an infrastructure challenge, and a governance issue, where social justice, institutional design, and ecological sustainability intersect.’
Today, water governance is a cornerstone of Maria’s work in Uruguay, especially as droughts and water insecurity intensify across the region.
Since returning to Uruguay, Maria has drawn on the lessons learnt during her Chevening experience to make a positive impact.
As well as leading Uruguay’s long-term climate strategy, Maria heads up regional negotiations as the coordinator of Grupo Sur, a coalition made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, and Paraguay.
She’s also helping to advocate for needs-based, equitable climate finance across Latin America, bringing a unique blend of technical acumen and political insight, shaped as much by her master’s curriculum as by late-night debates with fellow Chevening scholars.
‘I spent long nights discussing the climate crisis and global inequalities with Cheveners from India, Mexico, Pakistan, Egypt, Serbia, Georgia, Colombia, Venezuela and more… Those conversations expanded my horizons and challenged me to think differently.’
And many of these connections have now evolved into working partnerships.
‘We continue to exchange knowledge, build strategies, and support each other. When I was offered the position of National Director for Climate Change in Uruguay, I consulted with several of them… Their perspectives were invaluable.’
Maria’s vision for the future remains rooted in justice. She hopes to deepen regional cooperation in the Global South, amplify the voices of countries often left out of climate negotiations, and one day take on a leadership role within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
‘I aspire to help shape global climate governance with a perspective grounded in justice, gender equality, and regional diversity,’ she says. ‘I believe that the Global South must be at the heart of designing solutions, and I want to help ensure that multilateral spaces reflect that reality.’
I also want to mentor young women leaders in climate and public policy, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds… helping to shape a new generation of policy where climate, social justice, gender equity, and human rights are not treated as silos, but as one shared agenda for transformation.
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