Gilson da Costa is a local resident who was born and raised in Tarrafal.
He worked for about four years as a Tour Guide, and he has over six years of
experience in the social development sector, specifically on Poverty
Eradication (SDG#1) through education. Currently, Gilson is the Manager and
Program Coordinator of Delta Cultura Education Center, an educational
project from Delta Cultura Cabo Verde. There he works on providing to
children and youth from Tarrafal a safe space for personal and academic
development throughout different educational programs, such as art, music,
sports, IT, language, etc. He helps them develop their soft skills, realize their
potentials and subsequently develop and reach out to their full capacity
driven by their intrinsic motivation.
Gilson holds a Bachelor's degree on Language, Literature and Culture -
English Studies by Universidade de Cabo Verde (UNICV). In 2019, he was
acknowledged by The U.S. Department of State, as one of the Young African
Leaders in the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), taking part of Mandela Washington Fellowship in Leadership for Civic Engagement at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Gilson is driven by his dream to see a just and united world, and the
commitment of empowering children and youth of his community to be
creative, critical thinkers, self-determined, self-confident, and intrinsically
motivated to enlarge and develop their future prospects within their own
community.