Craig Kielburger

Craig Kielburger is the founder and chair of Free The Children, a unique international development and youth empowerment organization. Since 1995, Free The Children has become the world’s leading youth-driven charity, inspiring an entire generation to stand up and have their voices heard.

With the involvement of 3,500 Youth in Action chapters and schools, Free The Children has built more than 650 schools throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America, providing daily education to more than 55,000 children in 16 countries. Through its Adopt a Village development model, it has established more than 30,000 alternative income projects to assist women and their families in achieving sustainable incomes.

One of Free The Children’s most notable projects has been a joint project with Oprah Winfrey’s Angel Network called O Ambassadors. The project was designed to educate, engage and inspire more than one million young people across North America to take action to help their underprivileged peers overseas.

Craig is also the co-founder and director of Me to We, a social enterprise that makes ethical living the norm while helping Free The Children achieve financial sustainability. Me to We includes carbon-neutral international volunteer travel programs, leadership training and camps, a publishing house and music label, keynote speakers and the largest domestically produced, certified organic cotton clothing line.

Craig has a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Toronto and is the youngest-ever graduate of the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program. He has received six honorary doctorates for his work in the field of education and human rights. Craig has traveled to more than 50 countries, visiting underprivileged children and helping with humanitarian projects and development initiatives.

He is the co-author of three national bestsellers. His latest book, The World Needs Your Kid: Raising Children Who Care and Contribute, will be released across North America in the fall of 2010 and features a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Together with his brother Marc, Craig is a syndicated columnist carried by The Toronto Star, Vancouver Sun, Huffington Post and Canada’s most widely read women’s magazine, Canadian Living.

Craig has been awarded many national and international awards for his work, including The Roosevelt Freedom Medal, The World Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child (often called the Children’s Nobel Prize) and he is one of the youngest recipients of The Order of Canada. His work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, BBC as well as many other news and print media.

ADDITIONAL LINKS

www.kielburger.org

• Me to We: Building Great Corporate Citizenship and Global Leadership

  Today great corporate citizenship is becoming more important than ever as people demand that the companies they buy from, work for and invest in recognize the importance of social responsibility. Adopting a high-energy approach that has captivated audiences worldwide, Marc and Craig will discuss their international experiences, share key case studies and provide audience members with specific recommendations that will allow them to make your company a global leader in corporate social responsibility.

• Me to We: Educating Creative, Compassionate and Committed Young Leaders

  Brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger can empower educators to bring character education, social responsibility and leadership training into the classroom, helping students and educators alike to live the "Me to We" philosophy of social involvement, volunteerism and service to others.

• Me to We: How Communities of Faith Can Create Positive Social Change

  In a world brimming with challenges, it is vital that communities of faith lead the way towards positive social change. Many such communities are renowned for their charitable work, and their dedication to helping the world's less fortunate. For many, reaching out to others is a way of life and an article of faith. In an age where many people question their deepest convictions, service to others can provide new hope and reason to believe. Although many communities of faith are eager to take action, many are uncertain about how to proceed. Brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger can provide communities of faith with the guidance they need to create positive social change.

• Me to We: How University Students Can Create Positive Social Change

  Marc and Craig will discuss the meaning and implications of global citizenship in today's changing world, and consider some of the many incredible opportunities that emerge through social involvement and service to others. They will also instruct audience members in the fundamentals of social advocacy, sharing practical lessons learned during their years of social involvement. As participants continue their studies or embark on their careers, they will do so with a fresh understanding of their own potential, equipped with all of the tools necessary to become true global citizens.

• Me to We: How Youth Can Take Action to Build a Better World For All

  It definitely isn't easy to be young these days. Youth struggle to cope with inequality, poverty and violence in their own communities and across the globe. These huge social issues can seem daunting—young people may dream of a better world, but how can they truly make a difference? Popular stereotypes about youth apathy don't help. Neither does the fact that young people are on the receiving end of so much in our society, whether it's help, instructions or homework. It's all too easy for youth to feel that they don't have the power to make a difference—and won't until they finally "grow up". Brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger have spent their lives encouraging young people to take action to build a better world for all. Having experienced the amazing benefits of community involvement, they are dedicated to empowering young people to live the Me to We philosophy of social involvement, volunteerism and service to others.

• Me to We: Living a Healthier Life Through Social Involvement

  Marc and Craig will share specific strategies for successful social involvement, empowering audience members to create the kind of positive social change that enables people to live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives.

• Quiet Heroes in Haiti

  On January 12, 2010, Haiti was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake just 15 kilometers from its capital of Port-au-Prince. Since the late '90s, Free The Children has worked in the country building schools. Craig Kielburger immediately joined his team on the ground with a convoy of supplies for Haiti's earthquake region.
  
  Craig and team witnessed the devastation, extreme poverty and logistical complications of the short-term relief effort. As well, they spoke to Haitians about their hopes for their country and development in the long-term. Through the stories of Haitians emerging as quite heroes in their communities, Craig will describe themes of international development, leadership in extraordinary hardship, and finding hope amid crisis.
  
  Highlights and Take-aways:
  
  

  • In-the-field accounts of delivering emergency aid and reconstruction
  • Original pictures and video
  • Engaging and grounded in current events and social issues

• “Craig has become a Pied Piper, inspiring students in hundreds of schools across the United States and Canada to join his crusade”

  The New York Times

• “Marc and Craig have individually and together spoken at many of our events, including multi-city speaking tours with former president Bill Clinton, Dr. Phil and Anthony Robbins. Most venue sizes are 4000+ people with audiences comprised of entrepreneurs, business managers, human resource professionals and senior sales associates. Their message is very powerful for a business audience and they bring a refreshing authenticity to any event. We only work with the very best speakers in the world and they are consistently ranked amongst our top-rated speakers.”

  Power Within Inc.

• “Craig, the commitment, the passion, the love that you all project and share is contagious and inspiring. I know that because of your speech, our wonderful students will go on to continue to make a difference in the world with this additional inspiration and spirit. Thank you.”

  Cornell University

• “Our guests were so enamoured by Craig. His energy was contagious. Everyone loved his comments…and thought he was one of our finest speakers to date. He held everyone’s attention and had a GREAT personal way about him—great personal touches. He spoke to everyone with the right message. He spoke most appropriately to the setting…and our donors, board members, and volunteers were very impressed. We were all impressed too. So glad we were lucky enough to secure Craig as our speaker this year.”

  Greater Louisville Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals

• “I have hosted Craig for special events at two separate occasions and he has in both cases been enormously successful, not just in educating, exciting and entertaining a group, but much more uniquely in inspiring a group to action. One of the audiences was the San Diego Chapter of YPO [Young Presidents’ Organization], and this particularly discerning group rated Craig and his team our strongest event in the entire year.”

  Young Presidents’ Organization, San Diego

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