Brazilian student receives UN global award for the first time

Anna Luisa Beserra won the Young Champions of the Earth with solar solution to purify water; project was developed in the 2018 edition of Academic Working Capital

Anna Luisa Beserra, 21, creator of Aqualuz - a startup formed over the course of TIM Institute's Academic Working Capital program - was one of the winners of the UN Young Champions of the Earth Award. It is the first time that a Brazilian woman has received the United Nations award for young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for the future of the planet.

The entrepreneur from Bahia has developed, along with other students from the Federal University of Bahia and the Federal University of Ceará, a mechatronic filtering system based on sunlight. The solution seeks to solve a very common problem in the Northeast of Brazil: the lack of access to drinking water. The filter purifies rainwater collected by cisterns in rural areas by means of sunlight, and an indicator changes color when consumption is safe. Aqualuz already distributes drinking water to 265 people and will reach 700 more this year.

Anna Luísa was among 35 global finalists and competed in the Latin America and Caribbean category with four other young people. The award will be presented in a ceremony during the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly on September 26 in New York.

With information from the press