One connected ecosystem

CityBrazil

Rio de Janeiro

A coastal metropolis where culture, climate, density, and civic imagination collide in public view.

CityBrazil

Florianópolis

A coastal Brazilian city where urban growth, natural systems, and a strong innovation economy meet.

OrganizationNGO · Zero hunger

Horta na favela

Horta na Favela, founded by Flávio Gomez in Rocinha, tackles food insecurity through urban agriculture, wet-waste recycling, environmental education, beekeeping, and tilapia aquaculture. It teaches roughly 70 children and families each month toward a "sustainable favela".

VoiceFounder, Vivendo um Sonho Surf · Rio de Janeiro

Carlos Belo Miste

Carlos Belo Miste is the founder of Vivendo um Sonho Surf, which combines surfing, education, environmental awareness, and social support for children in Rocinha.

• Environmental education
• Surfing
• Youth development

CityBrazil

São Paulo

Brazil's largest urban center, where dense networks of institutions, communities, and infrastructure make local solutions especially valuable to compare and share.

OrganizationEducation · Rio de Janeiro

Instituto Leandro Discreto

Instituto Leandro Discreto de Basquete 3x3, founded by Leandro Souza de Lima in Rocinha, offers free 3x3 basketball training, tournaments, and physical education — engaging 240+ children each month.

VoiceArtist of Recycled Glass · São Paulo

Debora Muszkat

Debora Muszkat is an artist and educator who turns glass into a language of renewal. Through Through the Glass, she empowers communities with creative recycling, blending art, sustainability, and social impact.

• Art education
• Creative recycling
• Recycled glass

CityUnited States of America

Washington

OrganizationNGO · Responsible consumption and production

Route Institute

A civil-society organization turning environmental awareness into visible, repeatable action along Brazil's coast.

VoiceFounder, Horta na Favela · Rio de Janeiro

Flávio Gomes

Flávio Gomes founded Horta na Favela in Rocinha, tackling food insecurity through urban agriculture, wet-waste recycling, tilapia aquaculture and environmental education toward a "sustainable favela".

• community_leader
• local_advocate

OrganizationNGO · Life below water

Salvemos são conrado

Unites residents, surfers, and volunteers to preserve São Conrado's coastline and build a culture of care for the ocean and neighborhood.

VoiceFounder, Route Institute — architect of Aquele Abraço · Rio de Janeiro

Simão Filippe

Social mobilizer for planetary regeneration and founder of Route Institute.

• local_advocate
• organizer

OrganizationNGO · Good health and well-being

Vivendo um sonho surf

Provides surf classes for children in Rocinha alongside literacy, culture, environmental awareness, social services, and art therapy.