Picture – Viviana Alvarez de la Cadena Garza

Viviana

Nominated by Marien Garza Arreola

All 2022 Children’s Peace Prize Nominees

Viviana has always said that she wants a better world for herself and those around her, and she did not think it was fair that children should have to pay for the consequences of the actions of their eldest. She believes in small actions, the phrase of her project is “small actions generate big changes”, and it is under this belief that she has achieved so much. For Viviana, working for and to improve the future of children is not only a passion but a mission in life. Back in 2015, she wanted to make a change, so she developed a course called Save the Planet. It seeks to create ecological awareness in children, so that they can become agents of change through talks, courses, and volunteering activities. In other words, young people become agents of change through theoretical and practical sessions where they see topics related to environmental care (water, animals, the 5Rs, energy, plants, rubbish, and the self). Since its foundation, Viviana has impacted around 50,000+ people with Save the Planet. Through murals, reforestations, clean-ups, and donations, she has regenerated more than 60 spaces, including community centres, DIF centres, schools, parks, streets, crosswalks, rivers, etc. Besides, she has planted more than 55,000 trees. Apart from that, Viviana has given more than 100 talks on climate change alone, and more than 200 talks in total on topics ranging from entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, systemic change, motivation for young people, among many others.  Thanks to her courses and talks, many young people have created their own social projects.