The fight against deforestation and structural racism, as well as the strengthening of democracy and education, are among the Brazilian socio-environmental challenges addressed by the 12 finalist initiatives of the Social Entrepreneur Award 2022.
performed by Sheet and by the Schwab Foundation, one of the sister communities of the World Economic Forum, the award recognizes solutions in four categories in its 18th edition: Innovation in the Environment, Highlights in the Pandemic, Community Solutions and Human Rights.
When putting its lens on the environmental theme, the Innovation category has as finalists Tasso Azevedo (MapBiomas), Mariano Cenamo (Idesam) and Leonardo Gomes (SOS Pantanal) and Mônica Guimarães (Documenta) — the latter two made the Pantanal Brigades possible in collaboration.
Another novelty this year is the category dedicated to Human Rights, which includes Luana Génot (Instituto Identidades do Brasil – ID_BR), Gabriel Marmetini (Politize!) and Carolina Videira (Turma do Jiló) in the final.
“In line with the great themes under debate in Brazilian society, the 2022 award gives visibility to initiatives that work in threatened biomes, such as the Amazon and Pantanal, and also to organizations that stand out in the promotion of citizenship, social inclusion and racial equality”, says Sérgio Dávila, Editor-in-Chief of Sheet.
The Community Solutions category brings as finalists inspiring actions led by Carlos Humberto and Antonio Pita (Diapora.Black), Edson Leite (Peripheral Gastronomy) and Tuany Nascimento (Na Ponta dos Pés).
Still under the impacts of Covid-19, the award also endorses initiatives of Highlights in the Pandemic: Priscila Cruz (All for Education), Tatiana Leite and Murilo Farah (Benfeitoria) and Fabio Lesbaupin and Eduardo Mufarej (Social Stimulus Fund).
“Brazilian social entrepreneurs have shown resilience and ability to respond to the enormous challenges of the health, economic and social crisis during the pandemic”, says Hilde Schwab, co-founder and president of the Schwab Foundation, a partner of Sheet since 2005 in holding the award in Brazil.
The winners will be announced on September 19, during the award ceremony in São Paulo, broadcast live on TV Folha.
The jury made up of experts and personalities will choose four winners, one in each category.
The contest will be between six women and ten men, five of them self-declared black, ahead of 12 initiatives that work on causes ranging from the inclusion of people with disabilities to Afrotourism, through political and citizen education and social gastronomy.
The finalists also compete in the popular vote category, the Reader’s Choice, which is also a platform to capture donations, and has the strategic partnership of Doare, Movimento Arredondar and PagSeguro.
Readers and Internet users Sheet will be able to vote until September 16 for their favorite initiative in each category at Folha.com/escolhadoleitor2022. And, if you want to donate to increase the impact of the actions, you can do so through a bank slip, card or Pix.
Among the winners chosen by the jury and the one defined by popular vote, one of them will be nominated as Brazilian representative among the Social Innovators of the Year in 2023, according to a selection carried out by the Schwab Foundation worldwide.
In 2022, the Brazilian selected was Adriana Mallet, from SAS Brasil, winner in the Innovation for the Resumption category.
“The Social Entrepreneur Award is, without a doubt, one of the greatest national recognitions for those who work with impact. In the routine of those who seek to undertake socially, it is a seal of quality for the work carried out and a leverage of credibility and visibility”, evaluates Adriana.
The SAS Brasil co-founder joined, alongside Guilherme Brammer (Boomera) and Celso Athayde (Cufa and Holding Favela), selected in 2019 and 2020 respectively, the Brazilian delegation of social entrepreneurs invited by Schwab to participate in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum , in Davos 2022, which returned to being face-to-face after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic.
“The award at the World Economic Forum took SAS Brasil to a new level of international conversations, dreaming of transforming access to healthcare not only in Brazil, but also using our model to generate impact on a global scale”, says Adriana.
Social Entrepreneur 2022 is sponsored by Gerdau, Ambev, Sesi/Senai, Coca-Cola, Liberta and Vedacit. And it has a strategic partnership with Ashoka, ESPM, FDC, Prosas, SBSA Advogados and UOL.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
