Craig Kielburger
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Craig Kielburger was born December 17, 1982 in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. He is an accomplished child rights advocate and leadership specialist. He also is an award-winning author and a popular speaker, thrice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He has founded Free The Children, the world's largest network of children helping children through education, and has co-founded Leaders Today, a youth leadership training organization known around the world. Since he organized the former group at the age of 12, he became famous as a young social activist of remarkable precociousness.
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[edit] Recognition
Kielburger has received many awards such as
- The Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award
- The Community of Christ International Peace Award
- The World Economic Forum GLT Award
- The Top 20 Under 20 Award
- The Roosevelt Freedom Medal
- The Governor General's Medal of Meritorious Service
- The Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship
- The State of the World Forum Award.
- Doctorate of education from Nipissing University for his work in leadership development
- He was the youngest person listed to the Globe and Mail's Top 40 under 40, at the age of 23.
- And recently was awarded the 2006 World Children’s Prize
[edit] Free the Children
When Kielburger was 12 years old he was shocked to learn about the murder of Iqbal Masih, a child-labourer-turned-child-rights-activist. He established "Free The Children", eager to take action and determined to help free children from poverty, exploitation and powerlessness. The organization began as a small group of classmates in Thornhill, Ontario and quickly evolved into an international phenomenon with head offices currently in Toronto.
Under Kielburger's leadership, Free The Children has now changed the lives of more than one million young people around the world. The organization has built more than 400 primary schools, providing daily education to over 35,000 children.
Free The Children's many accomplishments in the areas of education, alternative income, health care, water and sanitation provision and peacebuilding have earned three Nobel Peace Prize nominations, and facilitated high profile partnerships with organizations such as the United Nations and Oprah's Angel Network.
[edit] Leaders Today
Convinced of the importance of leadership development in empowering youth, Kielburger co-founded "Leaders Today" in 1999. Leaders Today empowers young people through leadership education, providing them with the inspiration and tools to affect positive social change. The organization delivers one-of-a-kind local and international training experiences, reaching over 350,000 youth every year.
[edit] Activist life
Craig Kielburger, now 23 years old, has traveled to more than 40 countries, visiting underprivileged children and speaking out in defence of children's rights. An internationally renowned speaker, Kielburger frequently addresses business groups, government bodies, educators, unions and students' groups. During past engagements he has shared the podium with former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Queen Noor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama and others.
Kielburger’s first book, "Free The Children", won the prestigious Christopher Award and has since been translated into eight languages. He is co-author of the national bestsellers "Take Action!—A Guide to Active Citizenship" and "Take More Action". Together with his brother, Marc, he now writes a regular column for Canada’s largest newspaper, the Toronto Star.
Kielburger's most recent book, co-authored with his brother Marc, is entitled "Me to We". This inspirational volume empowers people of all ages to live the "Me to We" philosophy of volunteerism, service to others and social involvement and has already spent more than 25 weeks on numerous national bestseller lists.
Kielburger has shown the world that no one is ever too young to make a difference. His work has been featured on Oprah, CNN, 60 Minutes, and profiled in The Economist, TIME and People magazine and numerous newspapers.
Note: The CBC News "Top 100 Canadians" distinction incorrectly states that Kielburger was born in 1984. He was actually born two years earlier.
