Environmental Activist

Antônia Melo da Silva is a Brazilian human rights activist and environmentalist.

antônia melo

Born in Piripiri, Piauí, in 1949, Antônia Melo da Silva was brought up by peasant parents who taught her the importance of fighting for their land and their rights. In 1953, she and her family moved to Altamira, Pará, and settled in Conceição do Araguaia on the banks of the Xingu River where her parents developed a successful farm. In 1959, she attended a religious school and then trained to be a teacher.

• João Cauto Award (2013)

Prizes

• Alexander Soros Foundation Award/ ASF Award 2017 - Environmental Activism and Human Rights.

Antônia Melo became a symbol of the struggle against the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam on the Xingu River, which earned her an award.

Antônia Melo fights against...

One of this woman's greatest motivations was to make sure that all families could have their own land, because in her childhood her parents had also fought for it.

Motivations

"I am just a drop of water in the ocean, but together with many others we can shape the strength of its waters and make changes. This is what motivates my commitment to continue fighting, so that human rights, socio-environmental justice and life are affirmed for present and future generations! "