By Samanta Pettinelli
My name is Samanta Pettinelli. I am originally from Italy, but currently live in Spain. English and Spanish are my second languages. I remember learning English in primary school; the way they taught it was more theoretical than practical. I discovered early in my life that I had a strong passion for international social issues and international cooperation. That made me aware that it would be extremely important to be proficient in languages. I loved learning and discovered my other big passion about language — Spanish. I studied it for a short time and I then made the decision to move and work in Latin America, where I managed to practice it enough to feel it is another mother tongue — possibly because the Latin roots of my real one are the same as the Spanish!
I do not know if I have a “role model” but I certainly identify with a woman who has positively shaped my vision, mindset and values ever since I was a young teenager. That woman is the British feminist writer and thinker Virginia Woolf. I remember reading her for the first time when I was 12 years old, not really fully understanding what she was talking about. However, her way of writing captured my interest and I kept on reading her novels and essays, as well as researching more about her private life and I found out how she was a pioneer in the political and social thinking of the Victorian Age.
My critical thinking has been deeply inspired by her during my growth and she certainly brought me closer to women’s rights issues, and shaped my beliefs and the person I am now. A quote of hers that I always remind myself of and that has been an inspiration is: “No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself”. She reminds me about the importance of trusting our intelligence, strength, who we really are. She also makes me reflect on how powerful women can be when we join together and aim towards a common goal.
I currently work for Includovate as the Business Development Manager. This role involves working with a global network of researchers and development practitioners for coordinating the design and writing of grant and bid proposals on the topics of gender equality, poverty reduction, women’s economic empowerment, social inclusion and much more. It also involves creating powerful partnerships with like-minded organisations. It gives me the opportunity to discover many new things on development issues affecting different areas in the world and it allows me to give my contribution in delivering innovative and effective solutions and responses to that. Every day, I learn something new about the research sector for cooperation and development and I work with colleagues from many countries, backgrounds and cultures.
Working for a feminist research incubator is an incredibly enriching experience. I have the chance to join a group of brave professionals fighting every day again discrimination and inequality, each of us contributing to change mindsets and structural conditions that keep unequal systems in place.
Samanta has solid experience in the development and cooperation sector, where she specialised in proposal development, project management and donor management. She has a master’s in development economics from Wageningen University and she has been working for international NGOs in Argentina and Nicaragua as an International Cooperation Coordinator, supporting the implementation of women empowerment and community development projects.
She then covered the role of Corporate Retention Officer at Save the Children Italy, managing a wide portfolio of donors for retention and upgrade. Samanta is passionate about the topics of poverty reduction, women empowerment and sustainable development. She speaks Italian, English and Spanish.
Includovate is a feminist research incubator that “walks the talk”. Includovate is an Australian social enterprise consisting of a consulting firm and research incubator that designs solutions for gender equality and social inclusion. Its mission is to incubate transformative and inclusive solutions for measuring, studying, and changing discriminatory norms that lead to poverty, inequality, and injustice. To know more about us at Includovate, follow our social media: @includovate, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram.