“LALA is a milestone in my life”

LALA is made up of young people who seek to make a difference in their communities and make a positive impact on the world. Among them is Juliana Janot, who inspires by the way of facing the world around her and since a very young age has been engaged in social initiatives in her community. Juliana is 16 years old and participated in BLB10, which took place in São Paulo in 2020. Passionate about social and environmental causes and sustainable development, it is not difficult to see how much these themes are present in her life and how she has been involved with dedication to them.

A young high school student from the state of Rio de Janeiro, Juliana began her journey in the world of social entrepreneurship at the age of 11 when she developed the Sementes Project, in partnership with the Red Cross in her city. After that, she never stopped developing projects and being active in her community. She says that LALA opened the door to a world of opportunities in her life, it was very important in building her networking and realizing that she was not alone as a young woman willing to make a difference in her community and in the world.

It was also at LALA that the student decided that she wanted to work with social entrepreneurship. In fact, it was at Bootcamp that she had the opportunity to meet Breno, a LALA alumni. He had founded an organization of teenagers who create projects based on the UN SDGs in their schools and communities. Juliana was delighted: it was everything she wanted, an initiative like this, and for people her age. When talking to Breno, however, she was told that perhaps the organization would need to come to an end as he would be graduating from high school and going to college.

That’s when Juliana decided to be willing to continue building the Future and become the General Director. By participating in the Technovation Challenge, she had the opportunity to learn more about entrepreneurship, plan and structure the project. In addition, she was also part of the LALA Incubation Program – a 2-month program offered by the Latin America Leadership Academy with the aim of assisting LALumni in the development of their projects – where she learned a lot from her mentors.

Construindo o Futuro started with 76 ambassadors from 15 Brazilian states, and now, as something unexpected for Juliana, who had no idea how much the project could expand, she is preparing for the opening of international applications. Currently, the initiative works with the creation of embassies, youth groups that create social and environmental projects to solve the problems of their communities.

In 2020, the student was a finalist for the Prudential Espírito Comunitário Award because of a campaign she organized in 2019, called “Solidarity Toy Library”, to help Venezuelan refugees. In the same year, she also created “The Daughter of Jupiter”, an Instagram account where she shares ideas of practical actions on how we can do good and help others in our daily lives.

In addition to those already mentioned, she is also part of other projects and initiatives, such as the HEY Campaign (ambassador) and Climate Clips (ambassador). But Juliana emphasizes that each one of us can be the change, as long as we have the will, and, of course, a lot of effort and planning: “When a person takes the first step, the doors will open.” She also remembers the importance of connecting with other people. “All of this I started doing was through networking,” she says.

For her, leading people is like having a flock of sheep, which you will care for and help when

needed. “The leader is a facilitator who helps others to walk the path together as well.”

Among her goals and plans for the future is to graduate from high school, go to college and continue doing what she loves, especially in the sphere of social entrepreneurship. She also shares that: “As a person, I believe I have 2 missions: the mission to contribute to a better world and the mission to become a better person every day, to treat the people around me better… to really be the leader of myself.”

Juliana is grateful to LALA for the difference the program has made in her life and for the open paths: “LALA is a milestone in my life”. It’s beautiful to see how much Juliana is willing to help others and be the change in the world. Having a positive impact on the lives of those in need is her biggest motivation. It is an honor for LALA to be part of her growth, and to see her fulfill its mission in an incredible way, putting into practice what she believes.

This story was written by Ainoã Oliveira, a LALA Storytelling Team member.