Miriam Reyes Oliva (Cadiz, 1986) studied architecture at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Sevilla and holds a Master’s in communication from the Universidad Europea de Madrid. After working as an intern at the prestigious studio of Herzog & de Meuron in Basel (Switzerland), she returned to Spain to complete her degree final project, a school of music and dance in Burkina Faso. This project was built a year later in cooperation with a local association and involved developing specially adapted construction techniques. It was during this period that Miriam set up ‘Aprendices Visuales’, a small NGO with a big mission: to ensure that children with autism have the tools they need to develop their potential to the maximum. Aprendices Visuales works in three main areas: research, developing visual material and raising social awareness. This NGO has received recognition in various forms, such as the Nestlé Prize for Solidarity, the UNICEF Emprende award and the Ashoka ChangeMaker X Change award.

The use of technology has enabled her interactive applications to be used by more than a million children all over the world. Her latest initiative is the Escuelas Visuales programme, which helps education centres to introduce visual teaching tools.