Action Canada Fellows to Share a Wealth of Stories in Ottawa
What does it take to become a successful leader in tomorrow’s Canada? Sixteen Action Canada Fellows will explore this issue during a week-long working conference taking place in Ottawa from February 11 to 18, 2006.
These aspiring young Canadian leaders in their early career years have been selected as Fellows under Action Canada, a national leadership program created by a unique private sector/Government of Canada partnership.
At this year’s conference presenters include Minister Benoit Pelletier, minister responsible for Canadian intergovernmental affairs; Tom d’Aquino, president and chief executive of the Council of Chief Executives; and Antonia Maioni, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. A conference highlight is the Ambassadors’ Dinner where seven ambassadors from countries such as Israel, France, the Russian Federation, Afghanistan and the Republic of Tanzania will discuss their perspective on Canada’s place in the global community.
This year’s Action Canada Fellows come from across the nation and represent a wealth of fascinating experiences – and potential news and feature ideas. Here is a snapshot:
- Free the Children, the world’s largest network of children helping children through education, was co-founded by Action Canada Fellow Craig Kielburger, 23, who can share some exciting future plans.
- Action Canada Fellow Yan Cimon, now commanding officer of a Canadian Forces military reserve unit, holds a Task Force Bosnia Herzegovina Commander’s Commendation for his outstanding contributions to peacekeeping overseas. Cimon is a Ph.D candidate at HEC Montreal and one of the few Canadian alumni of the National Defense University in Washington, DC.
- As vice president of Federal and International Affairs of the Quebec Federation of University Students (FEUQ) – the largest youth group in Quebec – Action Canada Fellow Guillaume Lavoie, has lots to say about post-secondary education policies.
- How do we foster enterprise solutions to poverty? Ask Action Canada Fellow Jesse Moore, director of private sector and development for CARE Canada. In 1997, Maclean’s magazine named him among 100 Canadians to watch.
- What is it like to clerk for Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin? Action Canada Fellow Tina Piper, 29, spent a year clerking in Madam Chief Justice McLachlin’s chambers before becoming an assistant professor of law at McGill University. Piper is also a Rhodes Scholar.
- Forty-eight percent of federal government executives say they plan to retire in the next three years, according to one government survey. Who will replace them? Action Canada Fellows Richard Hoshino, 27, Kevin Chan, and Flavie Major, 29, can talk about their recruitment into the federal government’s executive cadre through the Recruitment of Policy Leaders program. Assistant deputy minister Graham Flack can talk about the government’s challenges and why Action Canada Fellows are successful recruits.
Each year, a fresh crop of Fellows undertake a program of leadership development and public policy projects of significance to Canada, with one overarching goal in mind: to build leadership for Canada’s future.
Selected for their leadership qualities and commitment to Canada, each Fellow receives a $20,000 Action Canada Fellowship to participate in this 10-month program focused on leadership development. They join a growing network of inspiring young Action Canada alumni who all understand Canada’s public policy issues and have learned the skills to take action on these issues.
Co-founded by businessman/philanthropist Samuel Belzberg OC and former Simon Fraser University president Jack Blaney OBC, Action Canada is a national organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
To arrange an interview with the Fellows, please contact Cathy Beehan, CEO of Action Canada, cell: 778-233-6650 or Janet Webber, cell: 613-220-4125
Visit www.actioncanada.ca for further information about the program and the Fellows.
