Raquel Gaião Silva won the UN Global Youth Video Competition and is now an youth embassador for Climate Change. 

On the 5th edition of the UN Global Youth Video Competion young people around the world were called to submit videos showcasing positive solutions on three themes: Nature-based Solutions for Food and Human Health; Cities and Local Action to Combat Climate Change; and Nature-Based Solutions to balance the use of land for people and ecosystems. 

Former EMBC+ student, Raquel Gaião Silva studied Biology on University of Porto and went on for her International Master in Marine Biology (the current International Master of Science in Marine Biological Resources (IMBRSea) is a continuation of the EMBC+ program). Raquel's video was chosen from 400 videos submitted. 


Her video won in the categorie "Cities and Local Action to Combat Climate Change". In that video she portrayed in a 3 minutes documentary the work done by a local Portugues NGO called Ocean Alive. You can see the video here:  



She has also won last year the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Young Researches Award for her EMBC+ Master Thesis. Her research was focused on the impact of climate change on Atlantic macroalgae. Raquel believes that it is important to bring research out of the laboratory and into the lives of those who are more affected by marine ecossystem changes.

Raquel is the first Portuguese to ever win both prizes. She will be traveling for COP25 that will be held on Chile as UN Youth Embassador of Climate Change. Science communication has an essential role on transmiting information to the lay audience and changing perceptions on the society. Raquel surely shows that it can also pay off for the Marine Scientist career.