Earlier this year, on a Friday morning in Curitiba, Brazil, 28-year old journalist Rafael Forsetto sat in his office, mulling over his workplan. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, his next project was to document the work of the Indigenous communities of the Xingu River Basin, whose lands are under threat due to the deforestation, illegal logging and small-scale “garimpo” mining. But Brazilian Indigenous populations have been decimated by the virus, so Rafael decided that for the health safety of others and of himself, he would find other stories to pursue.
Despite the political and environmental stability of our world facing a terrifying question mark, youth activists like Rafael – flexible, adaptable, willing to reconsider priorities – are keeping hope for the future alive.
Rafael is the co-founder of Human Voices, a social communications company that documents the lived experiences of marginalized communities in Latin America, and particularly those most vulnerable to climate change. Rafael found his voice through on-the-ground reporting and visual storytelling, having written stories about agroecology and Indigenous resilience during the