Mário Lopes or ‘The Magician of Words ‘?!
The nomination for the Alda Espírito Santo Award, in the category “Young people who inspire”, was one of the great milestones in the ascendancy of the promising young man, Mário Lopes. And of course he won! He deserve it!
Mário and his convictions
Mário Lopes is one of the brightest young minds ever seen in São Tomé and Príncipe, truth be told. He has the pleasure to prove it, through innovating and sharing all that he knows. Through his own personal experiences, whether of life or career, he logically deduced what he believed to be the main issues of today’s society, and he puts his point of views without fear of being knocked down by the skeptical ones.
Mário Lopes was Vice-President of Conexão Lusófona, an international network of young people from Lusophone countries that promotes intercultural projects and knowledge exchange between Lusophone and non-Lusophone communities. This born talent of inspiring ideas and words, who recently ended his duties as Student Ombudsman of the Polytechnic Institute of Beja, does everything he can to bridge the gap between the informed and the uninformed, changing the narrative from dreamer/aspirant to creator/challenger, all through the power of information, that is, the word.
“I believe that countries should also be built with its diaspora. The diaspora can be crucial to the development and progress of São Tomé and Príncipe, it is urgent to strengthen ties with the young diaspora, involve São Tomé youth from the different spaces of diaspora in national programs and initiatives, stimulating their participation in the country’s development.”
With the desire to guide the youth, Mário is also an Advocate of Youth Empowerment and an activist when it comes to Female Empowerment “because believing in us youth is making the future happen”, he has the desire to decentralize the notion of erudite knowledge and provide opportunities through his achievements for everyone to taste a little of the wonders of global knowledge.
Mário, this ordinary being, friend of friends, in love with life and with a brilliant mind, who has done and does a little of everything: always concerned about his fellow man, besides sharing, he has always felt the urge to inspire, to awaken the need in people, to strive for the best of themselves and their communities. He says that they should not simply be one more person who dreams half-heartedly in every step he takes because of lazy leeches and evil minds. He recognized early on that it was in our hands to create, to move forward regardless of the challenges of life.
The ‘The Magician of Words’ believes that when we question what comes next, we can begin to plan for the future. These foundations led Mario to the creation of a narrative in his life:
“Always believe. Always create. Share always. Fight and never give up always.”
This narrative allowed many to see Mario not only for who he is but also what he has to offer. Being that way, being that available person has helped Mario fundamentally earn people’s attention and chart trails that culminate in a promising future. Significantly, as a result, he won the Alda Espírito Santo Award, “Young people who inspire” an initiative of the Mén Nón Association after a public vote.

At this moment, Mário Lopes is in his homeland, Sao Tome and Principe on a work mission, as the central part of the 2nd Forum of the Sustainable Development Goal organized by the National Youth Council in partnership with the United Nations. The event aims to cover as much of the São Tomé territory as possible. .
This activity has as a concept the responsibility of the Citizen, the State and the companies for the fulfillment of #Agenda2030 of which São Tomé e Príncipe is part of it.

This is undoubtedly an incredible achievement and so young. It has since become evident that Mário Lopes is the clear example of the old saying “To be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth”
Mário Lopes is definitely a name not to be forgotten!