Craig
Craig Kielburger

Craig Kielburger received The World's Children's Prize 2006 because of his struggle to free children from poverty, abuse and other violations of the rights of the child. But he also wants to empower children to influence decision-makers and to contribute to a better world for children.

Craig founded Free The Children (FTC) in 1995, when he was 12. When he was honored by the WCP, FTC had built more than 500 schools for 50,000 pupils in 21 countries, and sent 200,000 packages of materials for healthcare and schools, as well as medical equipment worth nine million US dollars.

In the mid-2000s, along with his brother Marc Kielburger, Craig co-founded WE, which provides a development model called WE Villages, helping to lift more than one million people out of poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, WE Schools and WE Day provide comprehensive service learning programs to 10,000 schools, engaging 2.4 million young change-makers. Craig is also the co-founder of ME to WE, a pioneering social enterprise, the profits from which help sustain his work.

Over one million children and young people in 45 countries have learned, through FTC, to help other children, and that they have the right and the power to demand respect for the rights of the child.

Learn about Craig’s early beginnings and the children he has supported in The Globe from 2006.

Text: Magnus Bergmar

Photos: FTC, Tom Hanson/Canapress, J.M. Carisse & Anders Kristensson

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