Twenty-seven-year-old Salvino Oliveira from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will be among five exceptional young people honoured at the Young Activists Summit (YAS25) on 20 November 2025 at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The event celebrates young changemakers using technology to drive positive social and environmental change.
Growing up in Rio’s Cidade de Deus favela, Salvino saw firsthand the barriers that prevent young people from accessing education. At just 15, he founded a free tutoring project that began as informal lessons in his neighbourhood and grew into a wider movement to improve education opportunities for favela youth. Today, Salvino is a City Councillor and President of Rio de Janeiro’s Education Committee, using technology and policy to connect communities, expand access to learning, and empower the next generation.
This year’s edition of the Summit, themed “From Hashtag to Action,” highlights how young activists are using digital tools to amplify voices, mobilize communities, and create real-world impact – while addressing online challenges such as disinformation, hate speech, and cyberbullying.
A multimedia kit containing license-free b-roll footage of Salvino Oliveira and the other activists, video soundbites (in 16:9 and 9:16 formats), a video news release, photos and background information is available here. A video news release featuring highlights of the Summit will be uploaded after the event on 20 November, around 10:00 BRT (Rio de Janeiro) via the same link. Upon request, the background information file is available in Portuguese.
Other #YAS25 Laureates include:
- Dev Karan, 17, India – Water Conservation through Low-Cost Tech Solutions
- Aminata Savané, 25, Côte d’Ivoire – Digital Inclusion & Safety
- Marina El Khawand, 24, Lebanon – Digital Innovation for Accessible Healthcare
- Rena Kawasaki, 20, Japan – Youth Participation & Digital Civic Engagement
The Young Activists Summit will take place in the renovated Assembly Hall of the Palais des Nations in Geneva (Switzerland) and will be moderated by Indonesian climate activist Melati Wijsen, founder of Bye Bye Plastic Bags and YOUTHTOPIA.
Salvino Oliveira is available for online interviews immediately, and for in-person interviews in Geneva on 19 and 20 November.
The Summit will be webcast live at 06:00 BRT (Rio de Janeiro) / 10:00 CET on UN Web TV and the Young Activists Summit website, with live interpretation in Portuguese, English, Hindi, French, Arabic and Japanese.
The Summit is organized by the United Nations Office at Geneva, the NGO dev.tv, Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS), and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
Media requests: media@youngactivistssummit.org
More information: www.youngactivistssummit.org