Twenty-five young Canadian activists tell their stories of what motivated them to take action to change the world.

How do members of the twenty-something generation see the world? What is their vision for the future? This book presents the stories of members of young Canadians who are working to create a more sustainable, compassionate, and conscientious global society.

In this compilation of personal stories, young citizens describe the moment they were inspired to pursue their passion to improve their world. Their methods and causes are diverse, and their stories highlight the innovative ways that they are identifying and addressing problems in society. Though optimistic, these individuals are not naive, and they have realized many impressive accomplishments. While in her teens, Miali-Elise Coley in Iqaluit organized a summer-camp program for less-privileged kids in her community to get them out on the land. Craig Kielburger founded Free The Children to raise awareness of the injustices of child labour. Tim Harvey biked and rowed around the globe to draw attention to climate change. At twenty-three, Lyndsay Poaps became the youngest elected official in Vancouver's history, serving as a city park board commissioner for three years. George Roter co-founded Engineers Without Borders, an organization of Canadian engineers that reaches across frontiers between Canada and Africa to help developing communities.

Told with maturity but anchored in youthful idealism, these stories are a celebration of how these driven individuals are taking responsibility for their own and future generations, as well as how young people have faced the seemingly insurmountable challenges of guilt, burn-out, apathy, and isolation. Inspired by experiences abroad and at home, or driven to care by personal circumstance, the stories of this generation of leaders is asking and answering tough personal and societal questions. The editors of this compilation hope to inspire and challenge all generations to act, to think, and to better the world around them.

Severn Cullis-Suzuki has been an outspoken environmental and social activist since she was a child. At the age of nine, she founded ECO, the Environmental Children's Organization. Three years later, she and other members of ECO attended the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, a UN conference addressing the fate of the world's natural resources, where she delivered a powerful plenary speech that was later turned into her first book, Tell the World. Shortly after, at the age of thirteen, she was awarded the United Nations Environment Programme's Global 500 award. She graduated with a BS in ecology and evolutionary biology from Yale and is pursuing a graduate degree in ethnobotany at the University of Victoria. Severn has served on the UN's Earth Charter Commission and on Kofi Annan's Special Advisory Panel for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. She also co-founded the Skyfish Project (www.skyfishproject.org), an Internet-based think tank that encourages youth to speak out for their future and adopt a sustainable lifestyle. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Kris Frederickson is a proud Métis from Stonewall, Manitoba, who holds BSc and MSc degrees in biosystems engineering from the University of Manitoba where he researched water treatment techniques for Aboriginal communities. He has spoken frequently to Aboriginal youth about pursuing post-secondary education. He holds a Manitoba Aboriginal Youth Achievement Award, a National Métis Youth Role Model award, and a prestigious National Aboriginal Achievement Award, which he earned in 2004. Kris currently works as a water management engineer and co-chairs 2335, an initiative of the United Way of Calgary. He lives in Calgary, Canada.

Ahmed Kayssi holds dual bachelor's degrees in engineering chemistry and business German and is currently pursuing an MSc in physiology at Queen's University. He hopes to become a doctor and participate in the country's healthcare debate. However, as a native Iraqi who lived in Egypt and Saudi Arabia before calling Montreal home, one of his passions is to raise awareness of the place newcomers have within Canada. At his university, he founded the Arab Students Association and organized and moderated panel discussions on free speech and Canada-US relations. He lives in Kingston, Canada.

Cynthia Mackenzie is a passionate human rights activist who is currently pursuing her doctorate in political science in Melbourne, Australia. She has worked on human rights projects around the world, from sex-worker outreach in Calgary and refugee advocacy in Vancouver to community development in India and Costa Rica and urban environmental projects in Cuba. She has been actively involved in Canada's public policy debate with Canada25 and for her work, Volunteer Calgary named her a Leader of Tomorrow and Maclean's has called her one of Canada's 100 Faces of the Future. She lives in Melbourne, Australia.

A native of Toronto, Daniel Aldana Cohen obtained a BA in the History of Ideas and International Development Studies from McGill University in Montreal, where he was the editor of the independent student newspaper, The McGill Daily. He has raced the 800 metres at the Canadian Junior Championships, canoed into James Bay, and camped amid Inca ruins. He has lived and studied in Paris and the South of France and worked as a freelance journalist in Venezuela and Bolivia.

Oct 25, 2006