Brazilian engineer is elected Social Innovator of the Year
The creation of a collaborative network, including more than 70 organizations in 14 countries, to monitor land use, promote sustainable management of natural resources, and combat climate change led to Brazilian Tasso Azevedo, 51, being recognized among the Social Innovators of the Year in Davos, in Switzerland. Co-founder and coordinator of MapBiomas, the forest engineer is one of the 16 socio-environmental leaders awarded for their innovative approach and potential global impact in a ceremony this Tuesday (17th) at the World Economic Forum. "The 2023 Social Innovators represent a generation of social and environmental change leaders who demonstrate that innovative models of cooperation and intersectoral action are essential to moving forward in the face of the complex challenges we face," said Hilde Schwab, president of the Schwab Foundation, when announcing the ones awarded. The awards recognize social entrepreneurs, public sector managers, corporate leaders, and thinkers in four categories. The novelty in 2023 is the Collective Social Innovation category, in which Azevedo was awarded. He is also being considered for the future position of Climate Authority, one of the innovations of the new management of Marina Silva (Rede), at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. "This award will help us to gain even more credibility to expand our operations beyond the 14 countries where local partner networks already monitor transformations and land use", says Azevedo, finalist of the 2022 Social Entrepreneur Award, held for 18 years by Folha in partnership with Schwab. "We hope to reach Africa especially." Azevedo is the general coordinator of MapBiomas, which has Julia Shumbo, as the scientific coordinator, and Marcos Rosa, as the technical coordinator.