Hi dear reader!
You might be wondering how I ended up becoming a climate activist. Oh wait… am I even a climate activist? Let’s start from the beginning. My name is Abigail Hartshorn Guerrero, or just Abi for short. I’m 26 years old and was born in Marbella (Spain) to a Spanish mum and an English dad, so I have always been too English to be Spanish, but too Spanish to be English.
Climate change was one of my biggest fears as a child and a wildfire near my home made it even more real. For a while I wanted to be a scientist. I even started chemistry at university, but less than half a year later, boom! Life crisis. The idea of being stuck in a lab for the rest of my life haunted me. But what did I want? I had too many interests and questions. Then came the lightbulb moment: I knew what I could do, I could become a journalist. That way I could research anything I wanted without committing to just one topic (or so I thought at the time).
During my journalism degree I did an Erasmus exchange and somehow ended up in Sweden (yes, ABBA’s country). It was amazing: I traveled, learned, and met my partner. This was autumn 2019. You can guess what happened when I returned home… COVID. This meant that I had to finish my degree in lock-down. When I finally graduated I had to make a big decision: stay in Málaga, or move to Sweden. I chose rainy Sweden.
Back in Sweden, I tried to find work as a journalist. It was extremely difficult: I didn’t speak the language and I lacked experience. I found other jobs, but none were related to what I studied. So I decided to give journalism another chance. This time, I shifted my focus toward International Relations, which led me to a master’s in Global Studies and an internship. Maybe you recognise the organisation where I landed? Jordens Vänner. No? What if I say Friends of the Earth Sweden?
As part of my internship, I researched political and environmental issues in Mozambique and worked as a communicator in a corporate accountability campaign, even attending negotiations in Geneva. Later, I stayed involved through the Youth Policy Academy, which expanded my network and eventually led to an opportunity to become Sweden’s youth representative at Young Friends of the Earth Europe (YFOEE). Since then, I’ve joined the steering group of YFOEE, walked over 60 km across Belgium and participated in the binding treaty negotiations in Geneva (again) representing European youths. And this adventure has only just begun, we’re passionate, diverse, and ready to speak out on climate justice across Europe and beyond.