katiaseifong@gmail.com

Katia is an architect, designer, and social entrepreneur who has won several architecture and design competitions and is currently an assistant professor and bamboo researcher at the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urbanism of the Universidad de la República. Her journey with bamboo began in 2009, leading her to found Bambú en Uruguay in 2013, a pioneering cultural project supported by competitive funds from the Ministry of Education and Culture, which promotes the use of bamboo and its opportunities within local communities across Uruguay. Katia has organized over 50 free activities, including workshops, exhibitions, and conferences, engaging more than 6500 participants nationwide. As community interest grew, the project evolved into Nuestro Bambú, a creative bamboo design studio with social and environmental impact.

Building on her work with bamboo in Uruguay, Katia was selected for The DO School in Germany and the U.S. government’s Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative, where she completed a fellowship at the International Living Future Institute, expanding her expertise in sustainability and biophilia with bamboo. She has actively participated in congresses and workshops across Uruguay, Argentina, China, Germany, South Korea, Brazil, Kazakhstan, the U.S., Colombia, and Mexico. Since 2015, Katia has been a World Bamboo Ambassador for the World Bamboo Organization.