Rian

Ashoka Young Changemaker
Rian is a quilombola boy. He is outdoors, with a forest background.
Brazil
Elected in 2021

About Rian

Rian encourages the habit of reading among young people and wants to create spaces to educate and inspire through the arts and culture.

Writer and poet, Rian co-leads the project Gurupá Library. He realized that access and encouragement to reading among young people were lacking in his community. From there, he started to promote actions, such as plays and discussions about stories that bring up important themes, such as early pregnancy and other community issues. He soon saw the need to build a place so that more people could get to know the changemaking power of reading and cultural experience. With that, Rian and his friends decided to raise funds to build a community library that will also serve as a place for carrying out cultural activities. 

The group works collaboratively, involving their families and supporters throughout the process. The activities promoted encourage young people and their families to develop the habit of reading and have already won the support of the community's Residents Association, in addition to other social organizations and college students in the region with the fundraising. Rian has already published a book about Amazon legends. He uses his Instagram account to post poems and inspire more young people to wake up to different Amazon issues. Rian wants to create a space where arts and culture can be used to educate, engage and inspire young people and the entire community.