Valeska Ruiz Peña
Indigenous Rights and Gender Justice Advocate
she, her, hers
“I envision a world where power is distributed in a balanced way and all people can be recognized on equal terms to exercise citizenship and live with dignity and without any form of violence.”
Valeska is a racial and gender justice advocate who works to defend the human rights of all people, particularly women and the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon. Based in Peru, she helps facilitate dialogues that give voice to those who have been historically excluded from conversations about environmental, territorial, and Indigenous rights. She convenes Indigenous communities and then incorporates their input into the design of political and social measures appropriate to their needs.
Since 2009, Valeska has been a part of the “Museo Itinerante de Arte por la Memoria,” an award-winning traveling museum project that collects artifacts and narratives of political violence in Peru. In 2023 and 2024, she was invited by UN Women to participate in the Women Human Rights Defenders Week for environmental advocacy in Panama and Bolivia. She graduated with a master’s degree in public management from EUCIM Business School and a bachelor of laws degree from San Martin de Porres University in Peru.
At the core of Valeska’s work is a drive to create more respect and value for the multitude of voices and visions in Amazonian Indigenous communities. She hopes to challenge the accepted ideas of what dignity, development, and good living are and to ultimately achieve a sense of representation and participation that works for all people.