His teachers identified him as “revolutionary”. Since emigrating from Tehran, Anees has nurtured a spirit of multiculturalism in his adopted country. He demonstrated personal courage by standing up for a fellow student who was being discriminated based on his sexuality. Anees initiated Living Above and Beyond Every Label (L.A.B.E.L.), an anti-racism and anti-prejudice group at his school. Through this group, Anees worked towards improving his school’s climate by educating and hosting events such as the Stereotype Fashion Show. In addition, Anees worked with Unity in Diversity, a local organization that promotes racial respect through education, and volunteered extensively with the Vancouver Humane Society.

Described by her vice principle as “an exceptional young person who cares deeply for others”, Aminka started her school’s first-ever multicultural club and established a Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (S.T.A.N.D.) chapter. As a participant in the regional Federal Provincial Simulation Conference in both 2005 and 2006, she played the respective roles of health care minister from the Northwest Territories and Premier of Ontario. Aminka has been an advocate for causes such as Black History Month, as well as a champion for AIDS awareness, as she has volunteered with the AIDS committee for the Kitchener/Waterloo area since 2005.

Ryan was instrumental in organizing his school’s Culturefest, a celebration of world cultures that involved dances, fashion shows, as well as food and activity booths. Ryan headed Raising the Bar Monologues to convey the realities of victims of abuse, rape, HIV/AIDS, genocide and violence; Smoking Isn’t Kool (S.I.K.) and Extinguish programs at his school to discourage tobacco use among students; and the Leadership Development and Manual Creation in the Students The Active Risk Takers (S.T.A.R.T.) overnight leadership conference that trained thirty senior students to become mentors. Ryan also organized a community fair for the Suddenly Opportunities Are Reachable (S.O.A.R.) leadership conference.

Nikkieta has worked to make a positive difference in her school and broader community throughout her four years of high school. She joined the social justice group Carmel Cares and went on to become its president in her senior year. Through Carmel Cares, Nikkieta spearheaded many new initiatives, including raising funds to sponsor two children in Bolivia, creating a community outreach program with the Eden Woods Seniors Centre, and assisting Via Manor, a home of young mothers. In addition, Nikkieta co-chaired the school’s annual Christmas Basket Project. Nikkieta delivered two successful workshops in Harmony Movement’s Diversity Leadership Certificate Program.

As president of her school’s Equity Committee, Ayan organized campaigns to address issues of discrimination and was influential in creating an “Equity Special Collection” at her school’s library, filling it with equity-oriented books and videos. Ayan successfully campaigned for a Women’s and Gender Studies course, which will be added to her school’s curriculum in the upcoming year. She has organized successful fundraisers for local community organizations and for the Acholi children in northern Uganda. In 2007, Ayan designed and delivered a 75-minute interactive workshop on student activism to teacher candidates at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Education (O.I.S.E.).

Aravind came to Canada from India three years ago and has already made a profound impact on his community. Due to his personal experiences with racial stereotyping and bullying, Aravind founded the group Students for International Friendship and Understanding (S.I.F.U.) which brings immigrant and refugee students together with club members and host families. He also created the official poster for Black History Month in Ontario and helped raise money for orphans in Peru and Chile through his work with Students for Justice. Aravind’s recent essay on promoting egalitarian treatment for refugees is now a promotional medium for the Central Alberta Refugee Effort (C.A.R.E.).

Niki should be commended for her courage in starting the first Gay Straight Alliance (G.S.A.) in her rural community school. In the initial phases of the club’s creation, they were being denied rights given to other clubs to advertise through posters or school announcements. However, Niki fought and prevailed and G.S.A. was granted those rights after the first year. Niki ran the G.S.A. at her school for over two years and during this time the group was recognized by Youth Hotline in Toronto for their work in a rural community. She also presented a workshop on her group’s success at the 2006 National Guelph Sexuality Conference in Guelph, Ontario.

Aisha is devoted in her pursuit of social harmony. She volunteered an excess of 100 hours at It Takes a Village, a non-profit organization in Ajax. Through this organization, Aisha spearheaded programs and events that included the annual Kwanza festival, Black History Month events, and the Ajax Waterfront Festival. As a member of their special events committee, she organized events to promote African culture through crafts, dance, food, music and presentations. Aisha has worked towards creating a more inclusive curriculum at her school, where no African history courses are taught, by proposing a plan to petition for change in Ontario’s history curriculum.

Novel is a young man with proven leadership abilities. He served three consecutive terms as head of both Community Alliance for York Region Education (C.A.Y.R.E.) and Fusion, two anti-bullying organizations in his school. During this time, Novel organized anti-bullying assemblies for his school and also founded Unity, an umbrella organization for C.A.Y.R.E., Fusion and the Gay Straight Alliance. In addition, as student council president, he organized a weeklong fundraising event, “Raise the Beat”, raising over $2,000 for the Sick Kids Foundation. Novel is also responsible for organizing an International Spirit Week at his school where different cultures were celebrated each day of the week.

Katie is a leader in the promotion of diversity and equity at the regional, national and international levels. As a member of the Culture of Peace Committee at her school, she was involved in White Ribbon and Amnesty International campaigns in her community. She represented Ontario at the United Nations Regional Consultation on Violence Against Children for North American Region. During her last two years of high school, Katie was active in Harmony Movement’s Diversity Leadership Certificate Program, delivering workshops and developing lessons on diversity education to elementary students. These lessons have become part of a Teacher Diversity Education Resource Manual distributed to all Whitby and Pickering schools.