From Guatemala to the world:
Bibi la Luz
Founder of Eat Better Wa’ik / Come Mejor
Bibi la Luz Gonzalez – BIO
Bibi la Luz is a creative enthusiast merging food security, climate regeneration and human value. She is the founder of Eat Better Wa’ik, an organization in Guatemala devoted to reducing malnutrition through creative and inclusive education, economics, transformative agroforestry, consumption and technology.
She holds an MA. International Political Economy from the University of Warwick (UK) where she focused on food, migration and development. She is part of numerous youth organizations, including Global Shapers as Community Champion for Central America and lead of the UnShape Slavery project, Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative as Fellow and inaugural Alumni Board member, One Young World Ambassador and Delegate Speaker, World Merit 360 UN Speaker on SDG2, Thomson Reuters Foundation Trust Changemakers, Climate Reality Project, Social Gastronomy Movement. She undertook this year the Ashoka Changemakers Everywhere Academy course on systems change.
She is within the 50Next inaugural list by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, awarded as one of the three Heroes of the Pandemic in Guatemala, mentioned in articles published by the World Economic Forum and NBC News as within five and six trailblazing and inspirational females leading gender equity, and Forbes 100 Powerful Women in Central America 2021. Oh, and two of her life stories are narrated in the book «The Serendipity Mindset: the art and science of creating good luck».
She previously worked at the World Food Programme in Guatemala, international organizations and NGOs, academia, media, especially touching on project creation, corporate partnerships and social innovative executive production and reporting. She started her career while interning at the United Nations in Uruguay in 2007 focusing on the UN Reform in seven pilot countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Now, she collaborates with numerous UN agencies and advocated towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
She has been actively involved within the UN Food Systems Summit convening the independent dialogue «Improving our Food by Turning the Tortilla Around (and us too)» and presenting the lessons at the Pre-Summit in Rome, moderating the Faith and Food Dialogues, and co-hosting the «Food is the Future» event by Eat Foundation and more. Also, part of the Innovation Lever on Food Systems of the World Economic Forum. Selected to the Food Systems Game Changers Lab Accelerator on Cohort 3: feeding children nutritiously.
Moreover, she contributed towards COP26 by being part of the FACT (Food, Agriculture, Commodity Trade) Dialogue Taskforce chaired by the Tropical Forest Alliance and the UK Presidency which led to 133 countries to commit to zero-deforestation and sustainable land use; partner and expert on the UpLink Tropical Forest Commodity Challenge. She organized the TEDxEatBetterWaik event under Countdown format (climate action) with the theme of «The Jaguar in the Room», and was recently invited to the Expo Dubai Global Goals Week.
In 2022, Bibi was profiled by the US. Department of State press release on the Summit of the Americas as a changemaker and example entrepreneur for the region. She also moderated numerous sessions during the Holistic Climate Solutions Summit during New York Climate Week and UNGA77 on food systems, climate resilience, and inter-faith perspectives and the MENA region. She also appeared again in this years’ One Young World Impact Report focused on SDG2, with a SROI (Social Return on Investment) of $1:12 (for each dollar invested in Wa’ik, it returned 12 dollars in social value/return).
During 2022 and 2023, Bibi led the Innovation Challanges with the UpLink team at the World Economic Forum. With the funding partnership, the Ministry of Economy and Planning and the Ministry of Water and Agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, she directed and curated the «Food Ecosystems in Arid Climates» and «Smarter Climate Farmers» challenges, both with outstanding results, and the Climate Farmers one being UpLink’s highest submissions challenge in the year 2023.
Now, Bibi is in Japan, delivering the extraordinary #366Peaches (or in Spanish #366Peaches), since the color of the year 2024 is Peach Fuzz. And the color rooted from the Peach FRUIT! So, everyday, during the 366 days of this year, we are publishing how to say peach, one language per day. Additionally, we are researching and writing about the relationship of the country and peaches, making this an extraordinary and unique educational campaign.
Bibi brings a dynamic energy towards equity and transparent collaboration while she speaks, writes and takes creative and community action.
Talk to me in 5 languages
Bibi was born in Guatemala, and moved around the world since she was six years old thanks to her parents diplomatic posting and later on for her studies and work. She has lived in Japan, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, UK, Brazil and USA. She speaks fluently Spanish, English, French, Portuguese and is relearning Japanese.
Bibi’s health ordeals got her into Wa’ik
This climate and food story relate: the pollution in Guatemala City hit Bibi hard. Somehow it affected her breathing, skin, congnitive and neurological conditions. Therefore, she had to eat extremelly healthy and natural to avoid getting worse. Her mother was the cornerstone for her health and wellbeing.
Being the different one to make a difference
Bibi has been different everywhere she goes. Either by being the foreigner, or in her country speaking with a different accent, and having a wide perspective on life shaped by so many cultures she interacted with, an extrovert who wanted to be an actress, she now understands her limits and uses her skills and flaws in resilience.
Authentic leader, colleague and friend
Bibi has had her share of rough patches, that have made her stronger, bolder and authentic, seeking the wellbeing of any living being on this planet. Commitment and responsible leadership are at her core, and promotes this everywhere she goes. She is also a strategic speaker, writer and listener to embed and spark change.
