"Many adults don't think of youth as having a role to play in issues of social justice, assuming that we have little to contribute. I have learned, however, that with determination, young people can make their voices heard. I see no reason why today's youth cannot be today's leaders."

Kielburger first became a spokesperson for children's rights when he was 12 years old. Searching for the comics in the local paper, a front-page article caught his attention. He read about a young boy his own age from Pakistan who was sold into bondage as a carpet weaver, escaped and was murdered for speaking out against child labor. He gathered a group of friends and founded the organization Free the Children (FTC). Using his family's den as his headquarters, Kielburger and his 50 friends started to work for the protection of children's rights by writing letters to political leaders and circulating petitions. Nine years later, Kielburger, now 21, has traveled to more than 40 countries visiting street and working children and speaking out in defense of children's rights. Since its founding in 1995, FTC has grown into the largest youth empowerment organization in the world, having impacted the lives of more than 1 million young people. Through FTC, young people have raised funds for the construction of more than 400 primary schools in the rural areas of developing nations, providing education to over 35,000 children every day. In addition, young people have distributed more than 200,000 school and health kits, and in excess of $8 million worth of medical supplies to needy children and their families. Most importantly, Kielburger and FTC have worked to empower hundreds of thousands of children and young people to become agents of positive social change in their schools and communities. In 1999, Kielburger co-founded Leaders Today, which empowers young people around the world to be active global citizens. He recently authored and published a book called Me to We: Turning Self-Help On Its Head. For more information about the book and the Me to We philosophy and movement, please visit: www.metowe.org. For more information about Free the Children and Leaders Today, please visit www.freethechildren.org or www.leaderstoday.com.

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