María Florencia Toledo, a graduate of the Master's program in Intervention with Vulnerable Populations, has a history of social commitment that reached Rome..

“I came back more convinced that no one transforms alone. Leadership is about listening, articulating, and collective building.”, says María Florencia Toledo, a graduate of the Master's program in Intervention in Vulnerable Populations offered by the Institute of Family Sciences.

He returned from Rome, where he participated in the first instance of New Humanity “One Humanity, One Planet: Synodal Leadership”, an international program aimed at strengthening young leaders with the ability to intervene in social, political and environmental processes from a perspective of dialogue, listening and collective construction.

This international initiative, promoted by New Humanity NGO, an organization with representation at the UN, together with the Political Movement for Unity, seeks to strengthen the participation of young socio-political leaders in political advocacy processes at a global level, through a two-year training program. “The aim is to consolidate a global network of leaders capable of influencing their territories, building bridges between sectors and promoting structural transformations geared towards fairer and more sustainable societies.”, Explica.

Florencia was chosen as Argentina's representative, along with 100 other young people from every continent. The selection process was rigorous: she had to submit academic credentials, professional experience, and proof of community involvement. In her case, nearly twenty years of work in the public sector, her experience in social organizations, and a focus on human development all came together. “I felt like I wasn’t just sending a resume, but a summary of my journey.”, He said. “It was also about presenting my personal story of Having grown up in vulnerable contexts and having transformed that experience into a vocation. I believe that the coherence between what one has lived and what one proposes was also part of what was valued. I arrived representing a territory, but also a way of working: with roots, with listening, and with a vocation for structural transformation."

Still moved by the experience of meeting Pope Leo XIV and sharing several days of dialogue and collaborative work with young people from all over the world, Florence reflected on what she had experienced:

What was your motivation for participating? What do you think your contribution is?

My motivation stemmed from the realization that opportunities shouldn't depend on where you're born. You don't choose where you're born. I grew up in vulnerable circumstances, with absences and limitations. Transforming that experience into agency was my decision. I understood that strengthening individual and collective capacities was the path to ensuring that vulnerability wasn't my destiny.

I deeply believe in Human Development as an approach: empowering people to live the lives they value. And from that perspective, I bring a holistic approach to every project. I have worked within the government and also in civil society, as founder and volunteer of “Nothing is Impossible,” an organization that has supported community processes and strengthened the social fabric for over thirteen years. And in the private sector, with ITERAR Social Consulting, I promote sustainability, strategic planning, and the development of impactful ecosystems.

My contribution is to build bridges between these worlds and promote meaningful governance.

What did you take away from this experience? How did you get there and how did you get back?

I arrived with firm convictions and questions. Latin America faces structural inequalities and institutional fragility; we know that good intentions are not enough.

I returned with a deeper certainty: no one transforms alone. Building relationships with young people from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and hearing firsthand how they experience crises, confirmed for me that, although global, the solutions must be built from the ground up, based on shared responsibility.

I also returned more convinced that care—for people, institutions, and the environment—is not a secondary category, but a central political dimension. Leadership is about listening, articulating, and collective building.

What do you dream about? How would you like to transform the world?

I dream of more humane and just institutions. Of a politics that doesn't manage inequalities, but reduces them. Of leaders who understand that power is not a privilege, but a vocation of service.

I would like to continue transforming the world from the ground up: strengthening local communities, building bridges between sectors, and designing public policies that expand capabilities and guarantee rights. I believe in sustained processes, coherence, and collective work.

My dream is to contribute to a true transformation where each person can live the life they value, without their origin determining their horizon.