Biography of Craig Kielburger for Appearances, Speaking Engagements, Endorsements Talent Agent

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.

SPEECH TOPICS: ASSOCIATIONS, EDUCATIONAL, NON-PROFIT GROUPS

The World Needs Your Kid: How to Raise Kids Who Care and Contribute
Based on Marc and Craig’s new book, The World Needs Your Kid: Raising Children who Care and Contribute, this experience will provide you with everything you need to know about raising socially-responsible kids, lending a hand and changing the world — all at the same time. Marc and/or Craig Kielburger share groundbreaking lessons—learned through working with more than one million youth involved with Free The Children—on nurturing kids to care about the world around them, and demonstrate how small, everyday actions can make the world a better place.

−−Discover how to get the young person in your life involved with social activism and volunteerism, and give them an avenue for meaning and change.
−−Learn how small, everyday actions can have a lasting influence on a child’s life—resulting in new friendships, improved grades and higher self-esteem.
−−Get tips on helping young people help others, and ultimately help themselves become valuable contributors to a more caring and peaceful society and world.

Me to We: How One Person Can Make a World of Difference
How do you find purpose in today’s world? How can you leave a legacy while balancing the challenges of modern life? A powerful experience for people of all ages, this speech introduces the powerful Me to We philosophy, developed by Craig and Marc Kielburger through more than a decade of humanitarian work and in their New York Times bestseller, Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World.

−−Hear the remarkable tale of how Marc and Craig founded the non-profit organization Free The Children 15 years ago and the impact that has had on the brothers in developing the Me to We philosophy.
−−Listen to the inspirational stories and impactful lessons from Marc and Craig’s many travels and encounters with quiet heroes like Mother Theresa, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Pope, Elie Wiesel and many more.
−−Discover how to create change and make tangible actions to improve the local and global community.
−−Using the Me to We philosophy, learn how to make a difference, create your own unique path and leave a positive mark on the world.

Philanthropy: Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Social Change
In an age when social responsibility is more prevalent than ever, philanthropic opportunities seem to be around every corner. So how do we maximize social change—not only through our wallets, but through the work we do and the lives we lead? How do we capitalize on the new age of social entrepreneurship to create change that’s not only powerful, but sustainable?

−−Marc and Craig match an entrepreneurial spirit with 15 years of experience working on the ground with charities and social agencies across the globe.
−−Learn, from an insider’s perspective, about new and innovative models of philanthropy and how, for the first time in history, those models have the potential to solve some of the world’s most pressing social issues.
−−Discover the benefits of intergenerational philanthropy partnerships and the innovative model and mower of social entrepreneurship.

SPEECH TOPICS: CORPORATE GROUPS

Me to We: Inspiring Employees to find Meaning in a Material World
How can you find purpose in the workplace? How does a company inspire their employees to find meaning in the mundane? This speech will be an introduction to the powerful Me to We philosophy, developed by Craig and Marc Kielburger through more than a decade of humanitarian work, with a specific emphasis on how to apply this philosophy within the corporate community. A unique experience, this speech is an opportunity to highlight the social work your company is already doing, thank your employees and customers for their contributions to the company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives and celebrate your incredible achievements.

−−Help connect employees with your greater corporate mission and that of the world.
−−Learn how consistent corporate social responsibility and employee volunteering can boost team morale and teamwork and results in a happier, more productive and engaged workplace.
−−Uncover our “minga” philosophy of team bonding through service.
−−The speech is custom-tailored to highlight the social work your company is already doing and an opportunity to bring your employees and their families together in a unique setting.
−−A great opportunity to showcase your corporate social responsibility program.

Social Entrepreneurship: What For-Profit Companies can learn from High Performing Non-Profit Organizations
Most non-profit corporations have no product, operate on small budgets, offer no benefits and pay employees low salaries. How then are they attracting and retaining some of the best talent in the marketplace? We’ve all studied the already existing business models, so why are non-profit models, regardless of their success, often overlooked? Craig and Marc Kielburger founded one of the most successful international non-profit organizations in recent history. They will share with you what your company can learn from the best practices in the non-profit field to help retain and inspire your staff, engage your customers and help your company become more profitable.

−−Discover why so many recent graduates and seasoned employees are moving into non-profits at the expense of the corporate sector.
−−Recognize what it is exactly that for-profits can learn from non-profits in terms of resource allocation, staff retention, strengthening morale and building a motivated workforce.
−−Learn how to recruit, inspire and retain engaged employees who wish to leave a mark on the world.
−−Get tips on creating an engaging, empathetic and trusting work environment.
−−Discuss ethical halo branding as a form of product differentiation and building trust with consumers.

TESTIMONIALS

“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.”
– David Sersta, Vice President, New Business Development, 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.”
– Patricia M. Thayer, 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.”
– Andrew B. Takami, Executive Director of Resource Development, 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.”
– Michael Stone, Young Presidents’ Organization, San Diego

“Craig and Marc were able to inspire young and old alike through their powerful stories, cutting-edge ideas and practical tips to help create personal and organizational change. They are the best and most passionate speakers I have ever heard.”
– Jeff Dean, Fellow, Google

“To date, Craig has shared his moving and educational messages to our clients, field sales groups and employees on numerous separate occasions. Each time, Craig greatly exceeds our expectations and seldom have our events created the level of positive feedback and excitement that we have seen with these events. Perhaps, more importantly, at every event Craig has made himself available to spend time with each audience member who desired to speak to him after each presentation.”
– Neil Taylor, Vice President, Marketing, Investors Group

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