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Antonio Cruz Sánchez - Salvadorian, Latin America and the Caribbean

2017 Winner | | Salvadorian

SERES (Social equity, resilience & ecosystem sustainability) cultivates and generates momentum for youth leadership to build fair and sustainable communities in Central America. Young people provide us with an opportunity to capitalize on their creative ideas and energy, which can make significant contributions to addressing the complex social, environmental and economic challenges that the region faces. SERES combines leadership development and practical engagement, building a movement to create dynamic community leaders and sustainability entrepreneurs who are finding creative ways to tackle climate change and build community resilience. This focus is designed to work in general terms (people-led movements that campaign for change) and on a more profound level (developing highly skilled and transformative leaders) and aims to create change at an individual and a community level with huge implications. Young people find their voice and start to develop the necessary skills for good governance, benefiting the health and well-being of the community in the long term.

I was born in El Salvador and witnessed the effects of migration on my family, as my siblings all left for the US. 
I wondered if there was another way to secure a better future in my own country. It was with this question in mind that I met with Corrina Grace in 2009, a woman who is driven and deeply concerned by the impact of climate change on poor and vulnerable communities in Central America.


We believed that with encouragement and the right kind of training, any young person could become a highly influential leader, committed to addressing the causes of injustice and inequality in the world.

Disclaimer: NOTE: This content was shared online for the 2019 cycle of the Young Champions of the Earth programme and has not been updated. This listing does not constitute any endorsement by nor status with the UN Environment Programme.

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