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Why do we exist?
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Which problems do we help solve?
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Why is our performance important?
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How we contribute to
change the lives of young people?
Our story
From the convergence of the forest, the rivers, and the asphalt emerges Instituto COJOVEM, characterized by its diversity, plurality, and its ability to see in Indigenous, Quilombola, Black, peripheral, and LGBT+ youth the driving force for fostering innovation toward socio-environmental strengthening of territories and youth in the Amazônia Legal, which holds Brazil’s only demographic bonus. These diverse voices have united to share knowledge and increase the ambition of leaders and decision-makers through research and advocacy efforts on behalf of the Amazon and its peoples.
Our activities began in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the state of Pará, and quickly scaled globally—primarily focusing on long-term socio-environmental changes and their impacts on Amazonian territories. This process has been accompanied by violations of youth rights—youth who are the guardians of tomorrow and who, along with children, will face the impacts of the climate crisis for a longer time.
In 2021, COJOVEM was officially established as a nonprofit Civil Society Organization (OSC) with a special focus on the state of Pará. Pará encompasses around 20% of the entire Amazon rainforest—an area larger than the combined territories of France and the United Kingdom—and is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in Brazil. At the same time, more than 26% of its population is composed of young people.
Mission
Act to guarantee the socio-environmental rights of Amazonian youth through advocacy, research and training to strengthen resilient and sustainable territories.
Vision
To be a national reference institution in youth advocacy and research in the Amazon.
Values
Youth leadership; Multisectoral cooperation; Respect for human rights; Promotion of diversity; Socio-environmental justice.
Who makes up
TECHNICAL-POLITICAL OCCUPATIONS
CO-FOUNDERS
Pesquisadora
Luisa da Silva
Ativista climática e de direitos digitais, estudante de Engenharia Florestal da UFRA, trabalha com povos e comunidades tradicionais na linha do Manejo Florestal Comunitário desde 2019. Parte do Movimento Plataformas no Pará e aluna no programa Youth de Governança da Internet do CGI.Br. Idealizadora do projeto Clima Verde: Ideias para Ação. Alumna Embaixada Americana do programa Acess Amazon e assistente de pesquisa na COJOVEM. Representa a COJOVEM no grupo de pesquisa no projeto Combate à Desinformação na Amazônia Legal, com o Intervozes.
Coordenador Multidisciplinar
Rodrigo
Rodrigo Oliveira, Brasileiro, nascido em Belém-PA, 27 anos. Graduando do Curso de Licenciatura em Dança da Universidade Federal do Pará - 2018. Artista, Pesquisador, Diretor Artístico, Produtor Cultural. Foi Coordenador Geral do Circuito Universitário de Cultura e Arte da UNE - PA (União Nacional dos Estudantes), e do Centro Acadêmico de Licenciatura em Dança-UFPA. É Coordenador do GT de Políticas Públicas do Colegiado de Dança do Pará. Membro da Equipe de Organização do Circuito Norte em Dança.
Project Director
Natalia Mapuá
Karla Giovanna Braga is a sanitary and environmental engineer, co-founder and Project Director at Instituto COJOVEM, a youth ambassador for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, and was a fellow and facilitator of the Youth Brasil Program of the Internet Governance Forum in Brazil (CGI). She is an alumnus of the U.S. Embassy (2023), a fellow at Pour Le Brasil and the School of International Affairs in Paris (2023-2024), and has been attending international environmental conferences since 2017—connecting the local agendas of Amazonian youth to the global context.
COORDENADORIAS
Collaborator in the Projects Directorate
Pedro Mota
Paulo Henrique, currently a resident of Ananindeua but originally from Vila do Pesqueiro in the Municipality of Soure, Archipelago of Marajó. He is a historian, anthropologist, activist, and audiovisual producer. He has been participating in and developing projects in Marajó since 2017 as a member of the Projects and Sustainability sector at Cooperação da Juventude Amazônida para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável. He was a mentor in the Maré Mobilizadora program by COJOVEM, a social researcher for the Saneamento nas Escolas project by Habitat para Humanidade, and has organized and led workshops on audiovisual production, writing and project management, as well as environmental racism. He contributed to the realization of the Festival de Cultura Marajoara das Amazônias, which takes place in Soure and Salvaterra. He is currently part of the coordination team for the Jovens Pesquisadores Amazônidas para a Realidade Climática (JOPA) project.
Multidisciplinary Coordinator
Luma Ximenes
Rodrigo Oliveira, Brazilian, born in Belém-PA, 27 years old. He is an undergraduate in Dance Education at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) since 2018. He is an artist, researcher, artistic director, and cultural producer. He served as the General Coordinator of the University Circuit of Culture and Art of UNE-PA (National Union of Students) and of the Dance Education Academic Center at UFPA. He is the Coordinator of the Public Policy Working Group of the Pará Dance Collegiate and a member of the organizing team for the North Dance Circuit.
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