Heloíse

Heloíse was born and raised in a municipality in the semi-arid region of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. In her daily life, she encountered a polluted river that runs through the city and floods that hindered people's mobility. In 2020, while in high school, she and four other colleagues, with the support of a senior student from their school, connected with the Fridays for Future movement in Brazil and founded a chapter in their city, Mossoró.

During the pandemic, the group focused on solidarity actions and digital activism. Later on, they started organizing in-person activities to mobilize young people in the city for climate justice, such as protests at the City Council, climate strikes, and public pressure demonstrations advocating for climate change mitigation. Their demands included changes in solid waste management with more support for waste pickers' cooperatives, tackling forest fires, cleaning up the Mossoró River, and promoting afforestation.

The project aims to popularize environmental education, combat misinformation, and engage youth in the fight for climate justice. Currently, the Fridays for Future Mossoró team consists of around 20 people, and over a thousand individuals have already participated in the various actions organized by the group. They have collected more than 1,100 signatures for the Amazônia de Pé [Standing Amazon] Popular Initiative Bill, assisted over 400 young people in obtaining their voter registration, and have made an impact on 10 public schools and universities through their activities.

For Heloíse, the responsibility of halting the climate crisis is the greatest challenge of our generation, so that everyone (of all species) can live with dignity.