Vitoria Paes

Activist, Artist, Concerned citizen, Connector, Event planner, Student

I am a high school student from Brazil trying to create a creative community where people can share their ideas with one another and, through this, change the world we live in. Ideas themselves don't change the world, but they can change us and then we must do the work. This club, this safe space for conversation, is one of the ways I am doing my part of this huge historical task. When I am not dreaming of a new society, you can normally find me tapdancing, studying, reading, listening to music, debating or just walking arround town without a destination in mind (now wearing a mask!).

My biggest passion of all is people, humanity, and I believe all other passions I hold and cultivate sprout from this one. I think it is truly incredible that we exist and that every single one of us has a life of their own, full of problems, moments of joy and moments of reflection. We can only live life through our own perspective, but by trying to understand others and connecting to them we make our life more enjoyable and valuable. Because of my love for people, I am also deeply interested in art, such as visual arts, music, dancing, literature, ect. I believe our creations as human beings, even though many times fictional, open a space to dive into complex topics, to give us new perspectives and to build reflections we otherwise would not have had. Beyond that, I also believe that art has its value simply for art’s sake, or, as Oscar Wilde would put it “Art finds her own perfection within, and not outside of, herself. She is not to be judged by any external standard of resemblance.” That is because what I look for in art is not education, its is not morality or a code of conduct, not a representation of my real life, but rather connection, be it the characters painted, sculpted, written, etc, or, more often, connection to who made the piece of art and ultimately connection to what makes us human and alive. On the other hand, I also consider it impossible to create art that is not political, as all that is created and enjoyed in a society refers to the way the society is built. This leads me to my other large passion, politics. I believe it has come a time in the world where large change must happen, systematic change towards a world where oppressions and inequalities caused by race, gender and social class are no longer present, a world where the environment, nature and animals are treated with respect and one where everyone can enjoy dignity. Discussing global issues and trying to act on its local repercussions is something I consider necessary. Because of that, Model United Nations debates have been a central aspect of my life for the past years, as I see it as an opportunity to raise awareness and important discussions as well as an opportunity to study and inform myself about global issues. I do, though, realize how privileged are the people who normally have the opportunity to hold these debates, and that is why I am currently working on a large project that aims to make MUN more democratic in Brazil. Furthermore, I try to educate myself on global issues and do my part to engage in changing them, such as buying vegetables directly from small regional producers and not buying fast-fashion.