Bianca Bearare

Bianca’s journey toward creating practical solutions for people’s problems began in high school when she discovered a love for robotics. Joining a robotics team, she began to use her creativity, critical thinking and engineering skills to develop inventions – eventually competing in more than 12 robotics competitions and winning four international prizes, including the prestigious Global Innovation Award.

These experiences made Bianca realize just how much quality education matters. On her way home from school, she would pass shoe factories filled with young people, and be reminded that not everyone has the opportunities they deserve. That’s why she founded Tocando em Frente – an educational NGO that provides opportunities for underprivileged and rural students to unlock their full potential, regardless of their background. So far, Tocando em Frente has impacted more than 3500 children. Building on the present base of 90 volunteers, Bianca wants to train 30 new regional directors who will serve as leaders in the communities she wants to impact – expanding Tocando to 30 more schools across Brazil's countryside and reaching more than 20,000 children by the end of the year.

Bianca also aims to contribute to society through her robotics inventions – and her robotics team Big Bang has achieved a great deal in this respect over the last few years. First, they created RAY-B, a protective fabric capable of reducing the impact of cosmic radiation on astronauts, which caught the attention of astrobiologist Dr Lynn Rothschild of NASA. In 2020, they created Biritree, an integrated afforestation system that earned Bianca’s city its first sustainable recognition seal. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they created a sustainable bathroom filter that eliminates 99.9 per cent of COVID-19 in one minute. This was implemented in over 150 schools around Brazil, and Big Bang also partnered with the Rede Solidária NGO to make it accessible to 150+ low-income families. In 2021, the team met Reusa, a woman who couldn't complete simple daily tasks due to fibromyalgia. After discovering that fibromyalgia affects millions of women worldwide, the team’s research then focused on this illness, resulting in the creation of Fi-Glove – a sustainable glove that reduces chronic pain through exercise. It is a solution that has so far helped more than fifteen patients.

Bianca was World Robotics Champion at the Open First LEGO League Uruguay (2019) and silver medalist in the National Science Olympiad (2020, 2021). With half of the Global Student Prize funds, she would expand Tocando em Frente’s work with the aim of reaching one million children that lack opportunities in education. Some funds would go to purchase handouts, art supplies and tech tools for the organization’s regional directors; Bianca would also create a comprehensive marketing campaign to attract more sponsors, as well as young leaders interested in training as a regional director. The other half of the prize money would be invested in robotics projects such as Fi-Glove, Biritree, and SIRV – a cooling system that Bianca’s team has developed with Médecins sans Frontières to transport vaccines to remote communities safely.