4 Questions with Mariella de Carvalho

Hello Mariella, tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and what brought you to New York?

I grew up in a German-Brazilian family in Tübingen, in Southern Germany. I then studied political science and global development in Berlin and Copenhagen and spent time abroad in the UK, Brazil, Mexico, and Benin. After joining the German Foreign Service and becoming a diplomat, I worked at the German Mission to the UN in New York for five months. Since July 2022, I am now the Consul for Cultural Affairs and Science at the German Consulate General in New York. I am very excited to spend three years in this vibrant and innovative city, which in my opinion is the ideal place to cover culture and science.

What are the professional highlights of your time in the US so far? Do you have any special events in mind, have you met any extraordinary people?

I am very thankful that through my job, I can enjoy German art right here in New York – I met the installation artist Henrike Naumann and visited her exhibition at SculptureCenter, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is having a wonderful retrospective on the photographers Bernd & Hilla Becher, and I attended the opening night of Wolfgang Tillmans’ exhibition at MoMA. New York not only offers a rich cultural scene, but it is also an important science hub. Last week I had the chance to meet two impressive and charming scientists – the Nobel laureates Martin Chalfie and Joachim Frank. Did you know that New York is the city with the highest density of Nobel laureates?

How do you envision working with the DWIH and other science organizations?

My first experience working with the German Federal Foreign Office was during an internship at the German Consulate General in São Paulo, Brazil. As there is also a DWIH São Paulo, I was lucky to work with the amazing colleagues there and learn about the work of DWIH and the other science organizations. Here in New York I am very glad that DWIH has its offices on the same floor as I do and that the other German science organizations are also based in the German House. I greatly appreciate your expertise and I look forward to developing joint projects in New York.

One of your first big projects together with the DWIH and other partners in the “German House” will be an event in November supported by the “Science Diplomacy Fund”. Could you tell us a bit more about that?

The transatlantic partnership is one of the crucial pillars of German foreign policy and we believe that science diplomacy is an essential part of it. We want to foster academic exchange and dialogue, as we are convinced that it is necessary to develop joint strategies to encounter global challenges like conflicts, climate change, and global health crises. The Science Diplomacy Fund allows us to support transatlantic science projects with organizations in the US. New York is a unique location for bringing together global experts; I look forward to discussing sustainable innovation and global resilience with all of you!

Thank you, Mariella, for the interview! We are looking forward to continuing the great cooperation between the Consulate General and the DWIH New York.