The #1 Global Citizen

1. The #1 Global Citizen By Alex and Jackson H. Goof Proofed by: Valerie

2. This CE is on Craig Keilburger. Craig Keilburger is a hero who has inspired millions of young people into action to make a positive impact on the lives of many disadvantaged children around the world. Craig Keilburger is the founder of “Free the Children” as well, which is an organization that frees children from child labour. He started it with his brother Mark Keilburger in 1995 and it is still going strong. He also started “Me to We”. “Me to We” is a social enterprise, it is does lots of selling and does social speaking and donates half of its annual profits to “Free the Children”. He founded “Free the Children” in 1995 when he was 12 and founded “Me to We” in 2006 when he was 23. Right now he is 30 and turning 31 on December 17, 2013. He also wrote a book with his brother; Marc, which is also called “Me to We”. This book is all about explaining their philosophy of volunteerism, service to others and social involvement with contributions by Oprah Winfrey, Richard Gere, Jane Goodall, Desmond Tutu and others. In 2006 he won the “2006 Worlds Children’s Prize”, also known as the “children’s Nobel Prize”.

3. Craig Kielburger saw a headline in the Toronto Star news paper that read “Battled child labor, boy, 12, murdered.” The accompanying story was about a young murdered Pakistani boy named Iqbal Masih in 1995. The twelve year old was murdered when he spoke out against child labor after being held a slave in a carpet factory! This made Craig Kielburger angry who then made “Free the Children”. “Free the Children” is an organization that fights against child labour. He started it with his brother Mark Keilburger in 1995 and it is still fighting child labour today. He also started “Me to We”. “Me to We” is a social enterprise, it does selling and does social speaking and donates half of its annual profits to “Free the Children”. He with his brother Marc Kielburger also write books. These books are all about explaining their philosophy of volunteerism, service to others and social involvement with contributions by Oprah Winfrey, Richard Gere, Jane Goodall, Desmond Tutu and others. In my opinion, Craig Kielburger isn’t just a global citizen; he’s the voice in your head telling you to push forward.

4. Craig Kielburger was born on December 17, 1982 In a little town called Thorn Hill. It was not until he was 12 when his spark turned into a flame. He saw a story in the Toronto newspaper. The sad story was about a young Pakistani boy named Iqbal Masih who was forced into bonded labor in a carpet factory at the age of four. It inspired Craig Kielburger to get the 2006 World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child and many more accomplishments. .

5. Craig Kielburger targets third world countries where child labour occurs. He also traveled to see the conditions of child labour in Asia. I find that Craig Kielburger is targeting all of the world’s child labor. He is dedicated to this and will spend his life doing it. I typically think the places most common for child labor are places like Kenya or Dubai where low health care and debt is very common. In those countries some people will give their children to sweat shops or labor factories for money or if they have debt. Also places with a low economy or a country with leaders that don’t care. Unlike that, Craig was born in Thorn hill, Ontario, Canada.

6. Craig Kielburger is trying to stop child labour because it is a growing problem, and it is also against children’s rights! It is very unsafe and it also stops children from getting an education. Craig Kielburger can see this and knows it is very wrong. He took on the challenge of being a global citizen because of the murder of Iqbal Masih in 1995. The twelve year old was murdered when he spoke out against child labour after being held a slave in a carpet factory! This angered Craig Kielburger which eventually led to “Free the Children” and him being a global citizen. I think Craig thought it was his job to take Iqbal’s place.

7. Craig Kielburger is a successful global citizen because he uncovered child labour to the world. He uncovered child labour by creating “Free the Children” and “Me to We”, each with around 1 million kids participating! He told many global leaders about it by faxing them. He got people to notice him and his organizations by doing big things, like going to Asia at such a young age. He also writes books with his brother, they have written 11 now. They are mostly about “Me to We” and “Free the Children”, but some are funny like “My Grandma Follows Me on Twitter… and Other First World Problems We’re Lucky to Have”. He and his brother write “Global Voices” which is a weekly newspaper column that is in newspapers all across Canada. He has done a very good job of making child labour known. He has been on many TV shows like 60 Minutes and has been in many magazines like National Geographic. His organization is known all over the world; it even reached the ears of a disagreeing Brazilian man who said “Why is it that North Americans always think they can save the world?”

8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Kielburger http://www.freethechildren.com http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/kielburger/ http://www.peaceheroes.com/CraigKielburger/craigkielburgerbio.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornhill,_Ontario http://cower.me/facebook-timeline-covers/127-gandhi-be-the-change-you-want-to-see-in-the-world/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RiUHRCK0yw https://s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels/73359/avataractivistcraig/image.jpg

9. One Cool Fact • This was all by accident, because Craig only found Iqbal’s story while looking for the comics in the newspaper.