Marc Kielburger

Marc Kielburger CM OMC (born 1977) is a Canadian author, social entrepreneur, columnist, humanitarian and activist for children's rights. He is the co-founder, along with his brother Craig, of the We Movement, which consists of the WE Charity, an international development and youth empowerment organization; Me to We, a for-profit company selling lifestyle products, leadership training and travel experience; and We Day, an annual youth empowerment event. In 2010, he was named a member of the Order of Canada by the Governor General of Canada.

Kielburger was born in 1977 to schoolteachers Fred and Theresa Kielburger. At age 13, he became involved in environmental activism, founding clubs, starting petitions and eventually becoming the youngest person ever to receive the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship. He traveled to Jamaica on a school program, where he volunteered at a hospice for teenage mothers and at a leper colony. In 1990, Kielburger won the award for Best Junior Project at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, going on to win another CWSF award in 1992.

Kielburger attended Brebeuf College School in Toronto, Ontario, and Neuchâtel Junior College in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, graduating from both in 1995. In the same year, he was named a Jostens Loran Scholar and enrolled in the University of Ottawa before transferring to Harvard University, where he received a degree in International Relations. In 2000, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and attended University College, Oxford, where he received a law degree with an emphasis on human rights law.

Kielberger played rugby in high school, in college and in law school. In 1994, he suffered a serious left ankle injury during a high school rugby scrum. After the injury, Kielburger spent seven months on crutches with his ankle in a cast. Following several months of physical therapy, he resumed playing rugby in college and law school, but was often on the bench as his weak ankle was repeatedly reinjured.

While Marc Kielburger was studying at Harvard, his younger brother Craig read a story in the newspaper about the murder of a former child labourer in Pakistan. The story inspired Craig to urge world leaders to oppose the practice of child labour. In 1995, Craig and Marc co-founded Free the Children (later renamed We Charity). Marc's work with Free the Children has included co-creating ME to WE, a social enterprise organization that supports WE Charity with half its profits, and WE Day, an annual youth empowerment event held in large stadiums in cities across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. Kielburger later co-founded Leaders Today, an organization that trains young people to develop skills and confidence to effect social change.

In 2008, the Kielburgers appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, where they launched a partnership with Oprah's Angel Network.

Kielburger's work has been recognized through an Ashoka fellowship. He was named Most Admired CEO in Canada in the Public Sector 2015.

Kielburger is a member of the board of directors of Freshii. Kielburger also contributes a column to The Globe and Mail.