Henrique

Henrique identified a lack of youth representation in his area’s governing council. His community is unique as he lives in a riverside community in the extractive reserve of Tapajós / Arapiun. Extractive reserves are government-owned land, but the people who live there, known as “Resex”, have the right to traditional extractive practices such as hunting, fishing, and harvesting wild plants. To bring young voices into local governance, he began reaching out to neighbouring communities to explain the importance of having young people present in leadership positions. Henrique organized talks with other young people through his church to express the importance of young people being present in leadership positions. Eventually, Henrique helped create a youth department within the council to permanently include young people in all decision-making processes.