The Master of Public Policy graduate was recognised for her work to create safer roads and sustainable mobility in Mexico.
Alejandra Leal Vallejo is the Hertie School’s Alumni Achievement Award winner 2023. The award recognises the civil society activist for her outstanding advocacy work in the field of safe mobility in Mexico. Thanks to her engagement, the country changed its constitution which makes traveling to work, friends or family more secure — especially for pedestrians and cyclists. With the number of road accidents and deaths remaining very high, the changes come at the right moment in time.
At the 2023 Hertie Summit & Alumni Reunion, we sat down with Leal to chat about her work as the Co-Director of non-profit organisation Céntrico and her leadership as National Coordinator of the Safe Mobility Coalition. Both organisations took over a key role for safer mobility in her home country.
“Mobility is a key human right to have access to other rights such as education, work, even leisure. This being recognised means that authorities must take decisions to guarantee this right and protect people during their journeys” the graduate of the Master in Public Policy programme (2012) said.
In the video interview, she talks about the importance of mobility as a human right, about the power of civil society in her activism and how her time at the Hertie School impacts her work today. For current and prospective students, she also offers advice to make the most of their studies.
“The Hertie name means a lot to me. It really is a recognition that helped me to keep working on what we are doing back in Mexico. I’m very happy to be part of this huge community.”