Marc Kielburger is an accomplished social advocate and leadership specialist, a bestselling author and a speaker with a powerful message. He is the co-founder and chief executive director of Leaders Today, a world renowned youth leadership 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. Marc has been honoured as a 2007 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
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.
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.