General

Indigenous stories and history are often lacking in school curriculums in the north. A team of Indigenous youth led the annual development and publishing of a collaborative book about local Dene heroes. The books inspired Indigenous students, community members, and out-of-school youth to research and write about someone they admired of Dene descent. The project improved literacy and leadership skills while also providing employment for young people.

The Shape 7 project is a series of workshops with young people who seek to communicate the challenges/conditions that youth face as the nature of work changes in their cities/countries and the types of action they would like to see the public and private sectors take to support youth. These workshops will provide a snapshot of the vision young people have for the future of work and will be shared with the Senior leaders of the G7 community. Shape 7 are recipients of the #RisingYouth community service grant.

Katherine Homuth was named one of Forbes Top 30 Under 30 and became a winner of the Governor General’s Innovation Award at the age of 30. She founded Sheertex, the innovative textiles manufacturing and e-commerce company behind the world’s first unbreakable pantyhose.

Xavier Bulman is a young entrepreneur in New Brunswick who created his own business called TreatLab which delivers customized artisan ice cream and customizable lids designed by the customer.
(www.instagram.com/treatlabca). 

Joel Brennan grew up paddling and skateboarding in Canada’s Yukon Territory. As a teen, he was active in extreme sports, and went on to compete at the 2011 Whitewater Kayak Freestyle World Championships. Having tried different land paddles, Joel ended up with shoulder pain and believed he could engineer something better. Joel’s unique vision for creating the SUPStick, the ultimate land paddle, was born.

Maayan Ziv of Access Now is creating a more accessible world for people living with disabilities. She created an app that uses crowdsourcing to collect and share information about the accessibility of places around the globe.

The Rankin Rock Hockey Camp added components of literacy, nutrition and personal wellness, and leadership skills training to their hockey camps, as well as local employment for their community.

While in his 20s, Co-founder of Chinova Bioworks, David Brown developed a unique and innovative mushroom-based fiber extract used for the shelf life extension of foods and beverages. This natural ingredient allows food and beverages to be protected from microorganisms including bacteria, yeast and mold and plays an important role in reducing food waste around the world.

In her 20s, Breanne Everett co-founded Orpyx Medical to develop her idea for shoe insoles that prompts patients with diabetic foot conditions to move their feet to improve blood flow. This wearable tech has improved users’ quality of life and reduced health care costs by decreasing the risks of sores, infection and amputation.