Among the issues currently addressed by CIPÓ are: environmental crimes, climate governance, international peace and security, migration and refugees, and China’s role in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Mission and Team
What is Plataforma Cipó?
Plataforma CIPÓ is an independent, non-profit, women-led research institute dedicated to issues of climate, governance and international relations from Latin American and Global South perspectives. CIPÓ supports local and national governments, international organizations and civil society and private sector entities in developing effective responses to the emerging challenges of the climate crisis.
CIPÓ was founded in 2020 by Adriana Erthal Abdenur and Maiara Folly and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro.
The word “cipó” means “vine” (the woody, flexible stems that cling to trees) in the indigenous Tupi language and in Brazilian Portuguese. The word connotes three ideas that are central to CIPÓ: practical solutions (cipós are used to make baskets, sieves, and agricultural implements); bridging (because cipós link up trees); and action, since these plants are used by animals and insects to move across the forest.
Principles
Inclusion: CIPÓ promotes inclusive normative processes and decision-making structures that are capable of incorporating a wide variety of contexts, experiences, demands, ideas, and concerns
Transparency: CIPÓ adopts and promotes transparency and accountability as basic principles of good governance. We encourage and support governments and the private sector to adopt a more transparent decision-making process and to improve civil society participation and information sharing mechanisms.
Respect for Human Rights: CIPÓ promotes respect for human rights and adopts a people-centered approach as fundamental elements of its political and advocacy activities.
Capacities:
Our team regularly works in the following languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English and French
Examples of products:
- Technical reports
- Artigos
- Policy Briefs
- Surveys and questionnaires
- Technical Notes
- Memos
- Field Reports
- Media products
- Creation and Maintenance of Databases
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Geopolitical and Risk Analysis
- Capacity-building, Courses and Training (face-to-face and virtual)
- In-presence events and webinars.
Directors:
Maiara Folly
Executive DirectorCo-founder of Plataforma CIPÓ and specialist in international relations and public policy. She leads and participates in research projects and advocacy initiatives in the areas of climate change, environmental crimes, global governance, peace and security and foreign policy. Folly obtained a master's degree from the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford and a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) in Rio de Janeiro.
CIPÓ Team:
Gabrielle Alves
Junior ResearcherHolds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Brasília, with an exchange program at the Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3. Based in Brasília, Gabrielle is a law student and a member of the Human Rights Clinic at IDP.
Luísa Falcão
Junior ResearcherMaster in Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development at the Institute of Ecological Research. Based in Santarém, in the state of Pará, she holds a law degree from the Federal University of Western Pará.
Arthur Vieira
Research AssistantIs an undergraduate student at Harvard University concentrating in social studies and with a focus on sustainable development and inequality in Latin America.
Felipe Schaeffer Neves
Research InternHolds a master in Human Rights and International Justice from the University of Valencia and a BA in International Relations and Arabic from the University of Westminster.
Fathimath Nayifa Nihad
Research InternIs a master's student at the University of Oklahoma. Her MA degree in Global Studies focuses on activism, the climate crisis, and social and environmental justice. Nayifa is the recipient of the Fern Holland Award and William W. Talley II Award.
Max Holender
Administrative-Financial CoordinatorHolds a graduate degree in Business Administration from IBMEC-RJ and an MBA in Sports Management and Marketing from Trevisan. He also has extensive experience in carrying out the financial management of non-profit organizations, having previously worked at the Institute of Technology and Society (ITS-Rio), Igarapé Institute and Coding Rights.
Renata Albuquerque Ribeiro
Senior ResearcherHolds a PhD and a master's degree in Political Science from the Institute of Social and Political Studies of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (IESP-UERJ), as well as a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
Flávia do Amaral Vieira
Senior ResearcherHolds a PhD in Law, with a focus on Human Rights Law, from the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), as well as a Master's in Law and International Relations from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). She was a visiting researcher at the Birkbeck School of Law and the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law. She is based in Belém (Pará).
Marília Closs
Project coordinatorPhD candidate in Political Science at the Institute of Social and Political Studies of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (IESP-UERJ). She holds a Master's degree in Political Science from IESP-UERJ and a BA in International Relations from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She is based in Rio de Janeiro.
João Cumarú
ResearcherMaster's Student in Chinese Politics and Diplomacy at SIRPA (复旦大学, Fudan University, China). Bachelor and Master in Political Science (UFPE, Brazil). Associate Researcher and Curator of Energy Matrices and Environment at CEASIA (UFPE).
Viviana Porto
ResearcherPhD candidate in Political and Social Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She holds a Master's degree in Strategic Studies from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) and a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA). She is based in Mexico City.
Mariana Franco Ramos
Communications CoordinatorHolds a graduate degree in Communication - Journalism from the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), as well as a postgraduate degree in Human Rights and Global Citizenship from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS). She worked in several communications companies, such as Folha de S.Paulo, Folha de Londrina, Terra and De Olho nos Ruralistas, and in civil society organizations. She is based in Brasilia.
Júlia Hara Medeiros
Volunteer ResearchHolds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She is a socio environmental activist based in São Paulo, Brazil, and has previous experiences in organizations such as UN-Habitat and UN SDSN-Youth.
Founders:
Adriana Erthal Abdenur
Co-Founder of Plataforma CIPÓ. Dr Abdenur is currently Special Advisor on International Relations at the Presidency of the Republic. She was Executive Director of CIPÓ from 2020 to 2023. She is a Brazilian specialist in public policy and International Relations. Since 2019, she has been a member of the UN Development Policy Committee, and is part of the Commission on Climate Governance and the Council of United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS). She earned a Ph.D. in sociology of development from Princeton University (2006) after studying for her Bachelor's at Harvard University and Peking University.
Maiara Folly
Co-founder of Plataforma CIPÓ and specialist in international relations and public policy. She leads and participates in research projects and advocacy initiatives in the areas of climate change, environmental crimes, global governance, peace and security and foreign policy. Folly obtained a master's degree from the Department of International Development at the University of Oxford and a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC) in Rio de Janeiro.

Where are we
- Rio de Janeiro (BR) - Brasilia (BR) - Santarém (BR) - Belém (BR) - London (UK) - Mexico City (MX)
Transparency
Plataforma CIPÓ obtained its status as a Non Profit Organization in Rio de Janeiro in June 2021. The first complete annual report, including financial data, will be made available in the second trimester of 2023.