Kids pick Kielburger for prize

Former winner of same award inspired young activist

The Toronto Star, CURTIS RUSH, STAFF REPORTER, April 18, 2006

Craig Kielburger, a child rights activist and the Stars newest columnist, has been awarded the 2006 World Children's Prize, commonly referred to as the 'Children's Nobel Prize.'

The 23-year-old Kielburger will be presented with the award by Queen Silvia of Sweden at a ceremony on Thursday in Stockholm.

The prize, established by the Swedish Children's World Association in 2000, recognizes Kielburger's leadership and development efforts through his youth-driven charity, Free The Children. The Toronto-based organization works to free children from poverty and exploitation by creating accessible education possibilities.

Free The Children, which Kielburger founded in 1995 as a 12-year-old, has built more than 425 schools in 23 countries, providing education to 35,000 children every day.

The prize comes with a $40,000 (U.S.) cash award, which Kielburger says he will use to continue the success of Free The Children, as well as support a new fundraising program called Adopt A Village in which Canadian students adopt a village overseas, particularly in Africa, to help set up schools.

Kielburger was selected for the World Children's Prize by an international child jury of 16 young people, primarily from developing countries. It consists of former child soldiers, slaves, refugees and street children.

Its a very humbling experience, Kielburger said from Stockholm. A lot of awards are given out by adults ... This is the only award globally given out by children.

Kielburger said he is excited to receive the award because he is still in the early stages of his charity efforts. He said he thinks this prize will raise the profile of the award in Canada and empower children around the world.

To award this to a 23-year-old, he said, and to a youth-based organization, sends a message not only to Canadian kids who have been active in fundraising, building schools and engaged in our programs, but also to young people globally that you don't have to wait to be an adult to make your voice heard and make a positive contribution to the world.

Kielburger said the timing of the award carries extra significance because the first World Childrens Prize was awarded posthumously to Iqbal Masih for his fight against child labour.

It was the death of Masih 11 years ago in Pakistan that inspired Kielburger to take up his cause.

Kielburger remembers reading the newspaper at his home in Thornhill and was grabbed by a headline: Battled child labour, boy, 12, murdered.

Kielburger was in Grade 7 at the time.

He (Masih) was shot to death riding his bike in front of his house and many people believe he was shot because he was speaking out against child labour, Kielburger said. I was inspired by his murder. I felt so angry.

Kielburger ripped out the newspaper clipping and took it to school. I read the story and said I need your help, Kielburger recalled.

He enlisted classmates in a cause to help children around the world who were being exploited. Eleven friends joined and thats how Free The Children was born.

Kielburger has never looked back.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the 11th anniversary of our organization, Kielburger said proudly.

Past recipients of the World Children's Prize include South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela and his wife, human-rights activist Graca Machel.

Other prize winners this year are The Association of Orphan Heads of Households, a Rwandan network of 6,000 orphans which received the Global Friends Award, and Jetsun Pema, the Dalai Lamas sister, who received the World Children's Honorary Award for her work with Tibetan refugee children in India.

Kielburger is an award-winning author and three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Kielburger is currently pursuing a degree in peace and conflict studies at the University of Toronto.

His campaign to educate children and teachers on social-justice issues is featured every second Thursday in the Toronto Stars GTA section and online on the Stars website. You can view the special page by logging n to thestar.com/globalvoices.