Joao Felipe Scarpelini

Hi my name is Joao, and I'll be blogging from different youth-focused events. A bit about me: I’m a 22-year-old Brazilian-Italian. It was after visiting a slum area in Santos, Brazil for the first time at the age of 13 that my life completely changed. That visit impacted me so much that I felt I needed to do something; I needed to change things, but at the time I was told I would have to wait until I was older to be able to help and that what with my age and no higher education I couldn’t do much for those people. I decided not to wait any longer and since then I have been involved in a wide range of projects: teaching English, IT and basic life skills for young people of my age, founding the Municipal Youth Commission in the city of Santos - a platform that allows young people to advise on the city’s youth polices and strategies, and working as an activist on different campaigns, causes and in various organizations. Since 2002 I have been working at Peace Child (www.peacechild.org), where I work with an international team of young people to mentor and support youth-led development projects worldwide. If you want to know more about me, or would like some help with your project (or your ideas for a project!) feel free to get in touch with me at: joao@peacechild.org.