Maria Giovanna Demontis
Age 27 – Spain
I was born on the 18th of September 1988 on the island of Sardinia(Italy). I have lived in Milan, Germany and now I am working in Barcelona for Elephants for Peace. I have studied cultural mediation and tourism management, and I wish to work in sustainable tourism.
In Germany I have worked for the Caritasverband as cultural and linguistic mediation, and I had to face very difficult and touching conflictual situations. The role of the mediator is primarily to translate, but at the same time he/she needs to act for avoiding conflicts and misunderstanding. And this is what I did.
Concerning my contribution to peace, I have always lived peacefully, trying to solve above all my internal conflicts, which is, in my opinion, the key for a peaceful world, as personal and spiritual peace put us in the condition of accepting and tolerate the other, without being scared from it.
I decided to specialize in tourism as I would like to work to build a sustainable tourism, where sustainability means, not only avoidance of environmental depletion, but above all a social sustainability, where local people and their culture are not exploited and commoditized, but on the contrary, where they are free to use and manage their territory and resources according to their habits and culture, which should be preserved.
Peace for me is to love yourself and all other creatures on the earth, being tolerant towards everything that is different from you and your culture. Peace is freedom to move, to study and to communicate.
