Young Agents Awards Winners

Young Agents Awards – Local Category:

Young Agents Award recipient – 1st place, local category
Krista Cameron – 20
Krista has danced for almost half of her life, specializing in ballet. In the fall of 2008 she started The Heart Dance Program, offering free dance lessons to children in the downtown east side of Vancouver. Krista Plans to gain a BFA Dance Major at Simon Fraser University to help her in the near future open The Heart Dance Center, a permanent not –for –profit Arts Studio in the downtown eastside of Vancouver.

Young Agents Award recipient – 2nd place, local category
Yosef Spivak – 19
I yosef spivak am a youth whom loves to volunteer. I love to help out in the community. Have mental disabilities that have not stopped me from doing my dreams!

Young Agents Award recipient – tied for 3rd place, local category
Melisa Yorgancioglu – 18
Developing an undeterred passion for bettering the lives of others through contributing to the community, Melissa has fulfilled her dream to create a non-profit organization that would utilize the skills and passions of youth to reach out to those in need, founding T.A.P. – Teens Aiding the Planet. 3 years old and engaging more than thirty-five active youth. T.A.P. has tackled many issues in the community, helping the homeless, volunteering at food banks, cleaning up local parks, fundraising for hospitals and many other accomplishments. The group is expanding, continuing their annual events and providing opportunities for youth to make a positive impact.

Young Agents Award recipient – tied for 3rd place, local category
Janny Ke – 18
Through her various playwriting, music, and science fair experiences, Janny has become passionate about the synergistic power of the arts and sciences to solve problems. Founder and president of the NOW! Organization, Janny actively promotes sustainability and encourages creative, holistic problem solving strategies in elementary and high school students. So far, her NOW What? Conferences have reached more than 600 students. She has also been organizing a social change themed national playwriting competition, acted as a leader of the B.C. EcoMentors chapter and an active Let’s Talk Science volunteer, coordinated and presented hands-on science activities for more than 1000 students from grades 2 to 12.

Young Agents Honourary mention – local category
Francesco Cena – 17
Frankie Cena has been working for the community since grade seven when he began volunteering and raising funds for a variety of charities. He is currently acting as the Head Youth of the organization YouthTides, an organization working to provide youth conferences for all youth in BC. For his work Frankie recently received the Burnaby Local Hero Award. He is also the coach of his school’s debate team, past president of the District Student Advisory Council, and co-chair of the Model United Nations Club.

Young Agents Awards – Global Category:

Young Agents Award recipient – 1st place, global category
Sebastian Roberts – 19
Seb founded Bavubuka All*Sports on the belief that group sports promote cooperation, improve health, develop self-confidence and provide much-needed leisure time for youth in developing countries. Since 2006 Seb has made 3 trips to Uganda, shipped over 2000 pounds of sports equipment and clothing, and organized sporting events and networks to help these goods reach young people in Uganda,  Rwanda,  Kenya, Algeria and Cuba. Seb is now spearheading We Got  Skillz—Global  Voice, a youth driven project using a new technology to connect young people around the world. WGS is  currently hosting bi-weekly shows online and has already created a  huge fan base. WGS has an ambitious plan to develop an international learning center online that can be easily, and freely, built into the backbone of the education sector in developing countries.

Young Agents Award recipient – 2nd place, global category
David Xiao – 17
David and Jorge’s ambitions are epitomized in the mission of Microemprender, “to increase the welfare of the citizens of the village Timbio, Colombia and help end the poverty that is responsible for the degradation of their lives.” They are co-founders of Microemprender and its Agents for Economic Empowerment, respectively a Colombian microcredit program and a Canadian organization used for funding this and similar institutions.

Young Agents Award recipient – tied for 3rd place, global category
Abdeslam Boubia – 17
Abdeslam started his own organization in 2008 called Rising Above Poverty (RAP). Inspired by the effort of a friend working in Uganda, RAP’s goal is to help orphans around the world by delivering sports equipment, toys and clothing to children in Algeria, Uganda, India and other places. RAP is empowered by youth to help youth. The organization has already raised over $2000 and hundreds of pounds of donated sports equipment.

Young Agents Award recipient – tied for 3rd place, global category
Aarman Rahim – 16
Aarman Rahim spearheaded the ‘Monies for a Morsel’ campaign in order to alleviate world hunger.Through this campaign, Aarman raises awareness and funds using a benefit CD of original piano compositions written and produced by his sister and himself. 100% of the proceeds go directly to the UN World Food Program, thanks to various companies donating printing of CD inserts, CD’s, Cases and all production materials. Aarman is also the President and Founder of Teens Transforming the Community (T3C), The President and Founder of Mission Green and the President of Amnesty International at Port Moody Secondary School.

Young Agents Award recipient – tied for 3rd place, global category
Ziming Yang – 16
Motivate by an understanding that in many places in the world teenagers just like her were struggling in poverty, Ziming founded E4E (Education for Everyone) with a friend last year. E4E works to ensure the best possible conditions for fostering education in developing countries. They believe a root cause of poverty is limited access to education, and seek to eliminate as much as possible the barriers to education and provide material goods that benefit the acquisition of knowledge for youth around the world.

Young Agents Honourary mention – global category
Suji Kang – 16
Suji a co-founder of the Tekera Resource Center (TRC) club, supporting a small organization of the same name working in Uganda teaching skills for sustainability, and providing education and medicines. Inspired by great mentors such as Ms. Ferrario, an international study teacher, and Diane Louie, a TRC Director, Suji believes that education is the most important factor to prevent further poverty and social problems. Playing a leading role with 20 devoted and caring students, she has raised $2000 since October 2008 at her school so that more Ugandan students can get free education.