Michel Rudy Lotrowska, born in Belgium and a naturalised Brazilian, currently resides in Almada. He grew up and lived in Belgium, where he studied economics at UCL, before moving to Brazil at the age of 30.
With a degree in Economics from UCL, a master’s in public health from ENSP-Fiocruz, and a Bachelor’s in Popular Music and Arrangements from UNIRIO, Michel has had a diverse career. He dedicated 20 years to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), working in Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Palestine, and Brazil. For seven of those years, he was part of the organization’s Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines (CAME), representing CAME in Latin America. Moreover, Michel was instrumental in founding the Médecins Sans Frontières office in Brazil, as well as the DNDi (Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative) office, where he served as director during three different periods from 2007 to 2021.
Michel is an openly gay activist who fought for access to Antiretroviral drugs in Africa when ARVs were not yet available. Besides his institutional work, he is a singer and musician. Under his artistic name, Michel Tasky, he discovered in samba —a traditionally conservative musical genre—a way to express his individuality and overcome barriers, being a white, gay, foreign man with blond hair and blue eyes.
During 2024, Michel Tasky is releasing 14 compositions, reflecting (amongst other themes) on his transition from institutional activist to individual activist. He observes the technological changes and the sluggishness of modern institutions, which cannot react as swiftly as an “influencer.” Music has become a powerful tool of expression and transformation in his ongoing journey of activism.