Anna Luisa Beserra, 21, from Bahia, is the first Brazilian to win the Young Champions of the Earth award, an environmental award from the United Nations for young people between the ages of 18 and 30. The award will be presented at a gala on September 26, during the UN General Assembly in New York. Anna began developing water purification technology at the age of 15, in 2013, after winning a scholarship for young scientists offered by CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development). Since then, she has created 10 different versions until arriving at the current technology, which purifies non-potable water using sunlight, without chemicals or disposable filters.
“We wear sunscreen when we go to the beach precisely to protect ourselves against ultraviolet radiation. In humans, it causes skin cancer. But for viruses and bacteria, it is lethal. We use the same ultraviolet radiation to treat the water, which is then drinkable,” says Anna Luisa Beserra.
