Me to We
Marc and Craig Kielburger
Craig Kielburger
Our Nobel Peace Prize-nominated founder is now in university, balancing his classes in peace and conflict studies with a worldwide speaking schedule and his new blog.
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Marc Kielburger
The executive director of Free The Children, Marc is a Harvard grad and Oxford educated lawyer who started out helping AIDS patients in the slums of Bangkok.
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Motivational Speaking
With three Nobel Peace Prize nominations, high profile partnerships with organizations including the United Nations and Oprah's Angel Network, and four best-selling books, Marc and Craig know how to connect people with the issues that matter. To date, they have changed the lives of more than a million people around the world.
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Craig Kielburger
Craig Kielburger is an accomplished child rights advocate and leadership specialist, an award-winning author and a popular speaker. He is the founder of Free The Children, the world’s largest network of children helping children through education, and the co-founder of Leaders Today, the world’s top youth leadership training organization.
Craig has received many awards for his work, including the Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award, the World Economic Forum GLT Award, the Roosevelt Freedom Medal, the Governor General’s Medal of Meritorious Service, the Human Rights Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations and the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, also known as the Children’s Nobel Prize. He is the youngest person ever to be selected as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, an award that recognizes leadership, community involvement and contribution. He has a degree in peace and conflict studies from the University of Toronto and is the recipient of two honorary doctorates.
When Craig was 12, he was shocked to learn about the murder of a child labourer-turned-child rights activist. Eager to take action, he established Free The Children to help free children from poverty, exploitation and powerlessness. The organization began as a small group of classmates and quickly evolved into an international phenomenon.
Under Craig’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 450 primary schools, providing daily education to more than 40,000 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.
Convinced of the importance of leadership development in empowering youth, Craig 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 more than 350,000 youth every year.
Now 24, Craig has travelled to more than 50 countries, visiting underprivileged children and speaking out in defence of children's rights. An internationally renowned speaker, Craig frequently addresses business groups, government bodies, educators, unions and students. A sought-after speaker, he has shared the podium a number of times with former U.S. president Bill Clinton, as well as with such world renowned leaders as Nelson Mandela, Queen Noor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.
Craig’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, Take More Action and Me to We: Turning Self-Help on Its Head. Craig’s most recent book, Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World, is co-authored with his brother Marc and published by Simon & Schuster. This inspirational volume empowers people of all ages to live the Me to We philosophy of volunteerism, service to others and social involvement. Together with Marc, Craig also writes a regular column for Canada’s largest newspaper, the Toronto Star, and for Canada’s most read magazine, Canadian Living.
Craig has shown the world that no one is ever too young to make a difference. His work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, CBC, BBC, 60 Minutes and profiled in The Economist, Time and People magazines and numerous newspapers.
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Marc Kielburger
Marc Kielburger is an accomplished social advocate and leadership specialist, a bestselling author and a popular speaker. He is the co-founder and chief executive director of Leaders Today, the world's top youth leadership training organization. He is also the chief executive director of Free The Children, the world's largest network of children helping children through education.
Marc has been recognized for his vision and leadership with Canada's Top 40 Under 40 award and has received an Ashoka Fellowship for his innovation and commitment to social change. He is the youngest person ever to be awarded the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship and is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of education from Nipissing University for his work in leadership development.
With the determination to protect the environment, Marc first became socially involved when he was 13 years old. He went on to serve as a parliamentary page in the Canadian House of Commons, work with AIDS patients in the slums of Bangkok, and volunteer in Kenya, where he helped local women establish a fair trade cooperative.
Now 29, Marc is a Harvard graduate and Rhodes Scholar. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University, having completed a degree in international relations. After winning a coveted Rhodes scholarship, he went on to complete a law degree at Oxford University with an emphasis on human rights law.
Convinced of the importance of leadership development in empowering youth, Marc 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 more than 350,000 youth every year.
As chief executive director of Free The Children, Marc oversees a unique, youth-driven charity that has changed the lives of more than one million young people around the world. The organization has built more than 450 schools that provide daily education to more than 40,000 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.
Marc has now travelled to more than 50 countries, visiting the world’s most underprivileged people and speaking out on a variety of social issues. He frequently addresses business groups, government bodies, educators, unions and students. A sought-after speaker, he has shared the podium a number of times with former U.S. president Bill Clinton, as well as with such world renowned leaders as Nelson Mandela, Queen Noor and the Dalai Lama.
Marc is the co-author of the bestsellers Take Action!—A Guide to Active Citizenship, Take More Action and Me to We: Turning Self-Help on Its Head. His most recent book, Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World, is co-authored with his brother Craig and published by Simon & Schuster. This inspirational volume empowers people of all ages to live the Me to We philosophy of volunteerism, service to others and social involvement. Together with Craig, Marc also writes a regular column for Canada's largest newspaper, the Toronto Star, and for Canada’s most read magazine, Canadian Living.
Marc has shown the world that young people can become the leaders of today as well as tomorrow. His work has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CNN, CBC, BBC, 60 Minutes and profiled in numerous newspapers and magazines.
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