LAURA GOMEZJURADO GONZÁLEZ
COLOMBIA & VENEZUELA, 16
She/Her
Project: Vox Nostra and Women’s Innovation Association (ASOFI)
Colombia has suffered the consequences of armed conflict, drug-related violence and corruption for years. In August 2018, Laura witnessed Colombia’s youth fail to use their most vital tool to improve Colombia when very few voted in the election. She was determined to encourage young Colombians to become agents of change and build peace in a country immersed in violence. Later that month, Laura became a leader of Vox Nostra – an online platform that amplifies the voices of youth and acts as a meeting point for social activism and constructive dialogue. Vox Nostra welcomes young people to publish articles, poems, and opinion pieces, and organizes events about their nation’s challenges. Laura’s activism led her to work directly with women in rural areas, which are most vulnerable to violence. When Laura was diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease in 2018, she taught herself how to code in search of a cure. Her journey in STEM research opened her eyes to its power. In December 2020, she launched the Women’s Innovation Association (ASOFI) to empower vulnerable women in rural Colombia with STEM and entrepreneurship skills. In November 2021, ASOFI led an event educating 700+ women and girls on the value of technology and rural development to create peace. Laura presented an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based solution she co-developed called AgroSencore, which increases legal crop yields to combat drug trafficking. AgroSencore received the Conrad Innovators Award from the NASA-sponsored Conrad Foundation, and a grant from the UN Foundation Girl Up Initiative. Laura dreams of peaceful country, built by its citizens, in which democracy makes a difference, and history is not repeated: where youth choose dialogue over weapons.