Ilona Szabo de Carvalho is a civic entrepreneur and a thought leader on issues of civic action, drug policy, and violence prevention and reduction. She is the co-founder and executive director of the Igarapé Institute, a think and do tank that develops pioneering research, new technologies, and policy on security, climate, and development. Igarapé was ranked the number one social policy think tank in the world by Prospect in 2019.
Ilona has extensive experience leading global networks. Between 2011 and 2016 she was the executive coordinator of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, a network of former presidents, entrepreneurs, and public intellectuals, including Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Richard Branson, and the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
She is also the co-founder of the AGORA movement that aims to shape and help implement a new vision and public policy agenda in Brazil.
She is a Public Policy Fellow at SIPA, at Columbia University. She earned a Master’s Degree in International Studies from Uppsala University in Sweden, and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations. She has joined several executive courses, such as in Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century at the Kennedy School at Harvard and Transformational Leadership at the Said Business School at Oxford University.
She is a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum and was awarded several other prizes. She is a columnist at Folha de Sao Paulo and a TV commentator. A TED speaker and an author of 2 books. Ilona serves on several boards, including the advisory board of the Young Global Leaders.
In the mid¬-2000s she coordinated a national campaign on responsible gun control in Brazil and previously she worked for 5 years in investment banks in Rio de Janeiro.
Ilona Szabó de Carvalho says it will take broad, diverse networks of people and a radical change of mindset to tackle global threats like climate change
Future of the Amazon is at risk if deforestation levels rise by 5%. Building a green economy depends on the political will to stop illegal deforestation.
Most people believe strongly in the power of working together to face the challenges of today and tomorrow, according to a survey by the United Nations.
Deforestation is rising across the Amazon – and 90% of it is illegal. A huge collective effort is needed to prevent the region reaching a tipping point.
Homicide rates are falling after years of gruesome statistics in a region that hosts 43 of the world's 50 most violent cities – though there's still a long way to go.
Pensa-se que uma simples alteração nas leis referentes ao álcool teve um impacto importante.
Los crímenes violentos en San Pablo se han reducido drásticamente. Esta puede ser la razón.
Latin America's largest city was once among the region's most violent. But the bustling metropolis of over 12 million Paulistanos has experienced a remarkable decline in homicide rates.
Los homicidios en América Latina aumentan en un momento en que los asesinatos disminuyen prácticamente en todo el resto del mundo. La buena noticia es que no son inevitables.
Latin America is one of the most violent regions in the world. Prisons and police have done nothing to change that.
¿Qué debe hacerse para que las ciudades de América Latina sean más igualitarias y menos peligrosas?
What should be done to make Latin America's cities more equal and less dangerous?
Davos 2016: It is only by putting governments back in control that organized crime groups can be disempowered and associated corruption and violence reduced.
