Me to We » Speakers Bureau » View all Speakers » Craig Kielburger

Craig Kielburger

Book Craig Now! Call 1 647 259 3455

A humanitarian, social activist and best-selling author, Craig, co-founder of Free The Children and co-founder of Me to We, has inspired a generation of young people to be active global change-makers. Craig has received national and international recognition, recently becoming one of the youngest recipients of the Order of Canada.

Ideal for:

Corporate
Student Leadership
Educator/Principal

Non-Profit
Family Events
University/College

Keynote Topics:

Me to We: How One Person Can Make a World of Difference

(Inspiring for all ages)

We all have the power to change the world. And Craig and Marc—whose personal stories have inspired millions—can show you how. This powerful speech, perfect for people of all ages, details the remarkable story of how Craig and Marc founded Free The Children, which has grown into an international humanitarian organization active in eight developing countries.

When Craig was just 12, his outrage over the death of a former child slave of the same age led him on a trip through South Asia to see first-hand the shocking conditions that young laborers endure.

Craig’s older brother, Marc, turned his back on a career in politics or law. He chose instead to spend a year in Bangkok, teaching English and caring for AIDS patients in the city’s slums, before using his Oxford University law degree to empower young people around the world.

Over the past 18 years, the small charity Craig and Marc began in their home has grown into an organization that engages millions of young people worldwide. When the brothers met Oprah Winfrey, she was so moved by their mission she committed to building 100 schools overseas, beginning Free The Children’s partnership with Oprah’s Angel Network. During their journey with Free The Children, Craig and Marc have also had the privilege to learn from the mentorship of many people, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Craig and Marc will help you unlock our own passions and unique gifts to make a difference, and will guide you toward answering profound and urgent questions:

How do you find purpose in today’s world?
How can you leave a legacy while balancing the challenges of modern life?
How do you take the first steps to making lasting change?

You will also discover the Me to We philosophy, developed by Marc and Craig through more than a decade of humanitarian work and described in their New York Times bestseller Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World.

Audiences, too, will learn how to use the Me to We philosophy to create their own unique path that will leave a positive mark on the world.

The World Needs Your Kid: How to Raise Kids Who Care and Contribute

(A must for parents & educators)

Through Craig and Marc Kielburger’s work with Free The Children — an international charity and educational partner— they have empowered 1.7 million extraordinary young people.

There are thousands of young people who want to make a difference—they’re just looking for a place to start. And that’s where parents and educators come in. There is no greater privilege and or more important responsibility in life than raising the next generation. It’s the job of parents and educators to shine the light and guide the way for youth.

In this inspiring speech, Craig and Marc take stories from their own upbringing and from the wisdom of their parents, who both worked as teachers. Their parents let them take risks, fail, choose a different path and find their own unique voices. This speech also draws on teachings from leading experts on compassion, empathy, mentoring, service learning citizenship and achievement.

Based on the national bestseller The World Needs Your Kid: Raising Children who Care and Contribute, this address delves into everything you need to know about raising and mentoring kids to be active, engaged citizens.

Learn how to help your children realize their own special gifts and passions.
Explore the Three C’s for raising socially conscious kids: Compassion, Courage and Community.
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.
Learn how to introduce effective service-learning programs into schools.

The world needs your kids. Craig and Marc will help you be their guide, mentor and inspiration.

More than MBA = BMW: What For-Profit Companies Can Learn From High Performing Social Enterprises, and Non-Profits

(Thought-provoking and informative for business leaders and their teams)

Craig Kielburger, the youngest-ever graduate from the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program, and Marc Kielburger, who holds an Oxford university law degree, are leading a revolution in business.

They’re co-founders of Me to We, an innovative social enterprise that measures the bottom line by the number of lives changed and the positive social and environmental impacts it makes. The brothers are pioneering social entrepreneurs, and their work with Me to We has shown that you can make good—and make money.

Me to We partners with the world’s leading companies such as KPMG and Virgin Atlantic to build robust corporate citizenship programs that engage employees and clients. Me to We provides environmentally friendly and socially conscious products and experiences to hundreds of thousands of consumers every year, including international volunteer travel programs, a sweatshop-free clothing line, internationally-acclaimed jewelry and accessories that economically empower women in developing countries provide a publishing house and inspirational speakers.

A new generation of business leaders increasingly wants to make an impact beyond the bottom line. In this speech Craig and Marc will show:

How they built one of the largest social media followings in the world with 2.5 million Facebook followers—and how your company can leverage social media.
How to attract and retain some of the best talent in the marketplace, especially the millennial generation of employees who are looking for meaning and a paycheck.
How to differentiate your product to highlight and celebrate its social values and to reach the rapidly-growing socially-conscious market.

They will also share six simple teachings learned from running the non-profit Free The Children that will help any for-profits organization improve their workplace and their bottom line: Trust, Empathy, Community, Gratitude, Celebration and Legacy.

Philanthropy: Innovative Strategies for Sustainable 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 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?

Discover the benefits of intergenerational philanthropy partnerships and the innovative model and power of social entrepreneurship.

Testimonials

“Craig Kielburger’s presentation was terrific—not only was it a fascinating and well-delivered story, but it was ‘on-theme’ by talking about how some of his innovative ideas (i.e. social entrepreneurship, We Day) were brought to life.”

- 2012 CMA Business of Ideas Forum Delegate

“To date, Craig has shared his moving and educational messages to our clients, field sales groups and employees on 14 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

“Craig Kielburger was extremely well received by our audience. He is a great speaker and even more a great person. Remarkable—I would highly recommend for future presentations.”

- Brian Keegan, University of Saskatchewan

“Our guests were moved and inspired by Craig the other night at our annual Black Tie Dinner. Many commented that he was the best speaker we’ve had yet—and this was our 57th year! The difference, beyond his incredible energy and his ability to connect, was that he took the time to listen to our needs for the evening and tailor his comments specifically to this audience of insurance executives and brokers. It was an evening that many of us will remember for years to come.”

- Sheila Reesor, Toronto Insurance Conference

Full Biography

Craig Kielburger

Craig Kielburger is a social entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and syndicated columnist. He co-founded Free The Children in 1995 when he was 12-years-old. Today, he remains a full-time volunteer for the organization, now the world’s leading youth-driven charity. What began as a group of kids working out of a garage now has more than 1.7 million young people involved in its programs.

Free The Children provides comprehensive service-learning programs in North America, including its We Day celebrations attended annually by more than 100,000 students from 3,000 participating schools who earn their entry through service activities and reaches more than 5.4 million viewers through televised broadcasts. With more than three million followers, We Day is also the largest charitable Facebook cause in the world. Internationally, the organization works in eight developing countries providing a holistic and sustainable development model, including education, health care, food security, clean water, and alternative income programs. Free The Children programs include the construction of more than 650 schools and school rooms, and its health and clean water initiatives have empowered more than one million beneficiaries.

Craig is also the co-founder with his brother of Me to We, an innovative social enterprise that advances a new vision of philanthropy by providing socially conscious products and experiences that support the work of Free The Children. Half of Me to We’s annual net profits are donated to Free The Children, while the other half is reinvest to grow the enterprise and its social mission. Me to We provides sweatshop-free and organic clothes, as well as life-changing international volunteer trips, leadership training programs, a speakers bureau, and artisan accessories handmade by women in developing countries.

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 is the author of ten books. His latest is a humorous look at life in the developed world, and our daily opportunities to make a positive contribution, entitled, My Grandma Follows Me on Twitter: and Other First World Problems We’re Lucky to Have. With his brother, Craig writes “Global Voices,” a weekly column about the pressing issues of our time, syndicated in various newspapers including the Vancouver Sun, Halifax Chronicle Herald, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, and Winnipeg Free Press. The Kielburgers also write a bi-weekly advice column on addressing social causes in the Globe & Mail called “Brainstorm.” They are also weekly contributors to Huffington Post.

The Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes, Piers Morgan Live, as well as National Geographic, TIME, and The Economist have featured Craig’s work. He has 15 honorary doctorates and degrees, and has received The Order of Canada, The Roosevelt Freedom Medal, and the World Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child.