Hi!

I'M VANESSA

I've been working on this juvenile justice project since 2014, to promote alternatives to detention for young offenders, challenge negative attitudes towards rehabilitation services and curb re-offending in rural Uganda. In 2018 I led a business modelling and change exercise to improve the long-term sustainability of the project, leading to securing a quasi-equity social investment from a leading UK philanthropy foundation.

Founded in 2017, Projeto PeriféRica, aims to amplify young people's voices on issues affecting their neighbourhood and, more generally, urban spaces in Brazil. Check out the Facebook Page where we're piloting the use of chatbots to keep young people engaged.

In 2017 I helped CriaCidade, a São Paulo-based social business working to promote child participation in urban planning, plan the next phase of their growth and strategy. This resulted in the launch of Imagina-C (in portuguese imagina se, or "imagine if"), using gamification to expand the methodology in public schools.

As part of my role at CfC, I'm championning innovation within our team, to try and disrupt (productively) the status quo and old ways of working. Even though the traditional 'NGO' model is increasingly replaced by social businesses, I believe there is a wealth of knowledge and expertise to be saved, and adapted, throughout this transition.