Project story

Iron For Change believes in the power of young people to transform their communities and build a healthier, more sustainable future. Through a holistic, territory-based approach, we integrate youth empowerment, health, education, and environmental sustainability, fostering a sense of belonging and collective responsibility for the places we live in. Our 44-week journey guides young people through five stages — Awaken, Belong, Dream, Realize, and Regenerate — transforming self-awareness into collective action. The funds raised through this campaign will support the implementation of our youth incubator in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, empowering young people to develop community-led initiatives that address local challenges, strengthen social connections, and contribute to the regeneration of both people and the territories they inhabit.

Our Mission

Iron For Change believes in the power of young people to transform themselves, their communities, and the territories they inhabit. We believe change begins with awakening individual potential and grows through a sense of belonging, shared dreams, and collective action.

Our mission is to create opportunities for young people to develop critical thinking, leadership, creativity, and the ability to transform local challenges into concrete solutions, integrating health, education, sustainability, and socio-environmental regeneration. Through a 44-week journey, we connect young people with their communities, nature, and diverse local stakeholders, encouraging them to co-create initiatives that promote collective well-being and build healthier, fairer, and more sustainable futures.

We aim to nurture a generation of changemakers capable of leading positive transformations and actively contributing to the regeneration of life in their territories.

Background & Problem Statement

Young people face growing challenges related to mental health, social belonging, and the ability to envision a future for themselves. In a context marked by social inequalities, environmental changes, and transformations in community relationships, many adolescents have limited opportunities to develop their potential, participate actively in collective life, and recognize their role in transforming the territories where they live.

Assessments conducted during previous projects identified concerning signs among adolescents, including high levels of anxiety and depression, the use of prescription medications, episodes of self-harm, bullying, and a lack of future prospects. This situation highlighted the need to expand strategies for care, prevention, and mental health promotion by creating safe spaces for listening, social connection, personal development, and youth participation. In one of the contexts involved, an adolescent also died in connection with the misuse of prescription medication, an event that reinforced the urgency of addressing these issues in an integrated and responsible way.

These challenges cannot be understood solely from an individual perspective. Human health is deeply interconnected with the health of our environments and ecosystems. Air and water quality, access to green spaces, contact with nature, the safety of public spaces, and the vitality of community relationships all influence physical and emotional well-being, opportunities for social interaction, and quality of life. Likewise, environmental degradation, climate change, and biodiversity loss affect the living conditions of communities, particularly those in vulnerable situations.

The lack of spaces for belonging, positive role models, and opportunities to turn ideas into concrete action can undermine the development of autonomy, a sense of purpose, and confidence in the future. At the same time, disconnection from nature can weaken people’s sense of responsibility and care for their surroundings. Promoting health therefore also means protecting the ecosystems that sustain life and strengthening the relationships between people, communities, and the environment.

In response to this context, Iron For Change proposes an integrated approach that connects youth empowerment, holistic health, education, environmental sustainability, and community development. Through a structured 44-week journey, the project seeks to strengthen individual and collective resources, reconnect young people with their communities and nature, and encourage the co-creation of initiatives that address the social and environmental challenges of their territories.

The central challenge is to transform young people from observers of problems into active participants in co-creating solutions. By providing opportunities for them to recognize their abilities, develop skills, and take collective action, Iron For Change aims to contribute to healthier, more inclusive, resilient, and regenerative territories, recognizing that the health of people, communities, and ecosystems is interconnected. We want young people to find not only support to face the challenges of the present, but also the conditions to envision and co-create possible futures in which life, in all its forms, is valued and cared for.

Solution

Iron For Change develops solutions to strengthen youth empowerment, promote holistic health, and drive socio-environmental transformation in local territories. Through a youth incubator, we provide tools for developing socio-emotional skills, leadership, critical thinking, and community engagement, expanding young people’s future prospects and their ability to address individual and collective challenges.

The project connects young people, communities, and nature, encouraging the co-creation of initiatives that respond to local needs. By integrating human health, education, and environmental sustainability, we promote ecosystem care, a sense of belonging, and collective responsibility. In this way, we transform young people’s potential into concrete actions that contribute to healthier, more inclusive, resilient, and regenerative communities.

Opportunity

Iron For Change represents an opportunity to invest in the potential of young people as a driving force for territorial transformation. By connecting young people, communities, educational institutions, professionals, and local organizations, the project creates an environment that fosters learning, social innovation, and the development of collaborative solutions to social and environmental challenges.

The incubator gives young people the opportunity to develop skills, expand their future prospects, and turn ideas into concrete initiatives, strengthening their participation in community life. By integrating health, education, and sustainability, the project also promotes an understanding of the connections between human well-being, environmental quality, and ecosystem health.

This initiative opens pathways for developing new leaders, strengthening community networks, and co-creating projects that respond to local needs. Iron For Change aims to establish a platform for experiential learning, the exchange of diverse knowledge, and collective mobilization, capable of inspiring positive change and contributing to healthier, more resilient, and regenerative territories.

How We Transform

Iron For Change uses active and participatory learning methodologies that place young people at the center of the learning process through meaningful experiences, hands-on activities, and clearly defined learning objectives. Our approach integrates human development, holistic health, education, environmental sustainability, and community action, connecting knowledge, experience, and social transformation.

Through five stages — Awaken, Belong, Dream, Realize, and Regenerate — young people engage in activities that foster self-awareness, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and leadership. These experiences are designed to develop specific competencies, strengthen relationships, and enhance participants’ ability to identify challenges, reflect on their realities, and co-create solutions for their territories.

Our methodology values experiential learning, active participation, dialogue between diverse forms of knowledge, and connection with nature and the community. The funds raised through this campaign will help implement this approach in Florianópolis, Brazil, supporting educational activities, participant mentoring, partnerships, and the development of community initiatives.

Our goal is to turn every experience into an opportunity for intentional learning, and every learning experience into the potential for meaningful action, fostering healthier, more resilient, and regenerative territories.

Impact Tracking

Iron For Change will monitor its results through quantitative and qualitative indicators, assessing youth development, the effectiveness of educational methodologies, and the transformations taking place within communities.

Key indicators will include youth participation and engagement, the development of socio-emotional skills, leadership, sense of belonging, and partnerships established. We will also evaluate the quantity and quality of projects developed by young people, their implementation, and the spread of new initiatives across different communities and territories, expanding the reach and long-term impact of the project.

Participants’ experiences and perceptions will also be considered to understand the changes they experience. The results will guide continuous improvements to the methodology and help assess how the project contributes to youth empowerment, health promotion, environmental sustainability, and the development of healthier, more resilient, and regenerative territories.

Our Experience

Iron For Change was born in 2023 from an initiative by Dr. Maisa Hortal to accompany an individual on their own journey of transformation — their personal Change. The inspiration came from her own experience preparing for the Ironman in 2023, which deepened her understanding of the transformative power of challenges, discipline, self-awareness, and perseverance. This personal experience sparked the desire to expand individual transformation into an initiative that inspires young people to transform their own stories and the territories they inhabit.

The founder’s background combines degrees in Psychology and Medicine, experience with popular cooperative incubators, and work in integrative medicine, territorial health, and sustainability. This combination of knowledge provides the foundation for an interdisciplinary approach connecting human development, health, education, community relationships, and socio-environmental regeneration.

The project benefits from collaboration with the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), the CIANO Institute, and a multidisciplinary team with experience in previous regenerative projects. This network strengthens the development of participatory methodologies and meaningful learning experiences.

Iron For Change has developed its own methodology for empowering young changemakers, based on active learning, hands-on experiences, and clearly defined educational objectives. The approach fosters self-awareness, a sense of belonging, leadership, and the ability to identify challenges and co-create solutions, enabling young people to co-create the world they want to live in.

The project is now entering a new phase in Florianópolis, focused on implementing its youth incubator and developing initiatives that integrate health, environmental sustainability, and community development, contributing to healthier, more resilient, and regenerative territories.