Canada's Top 20 Under 20

On June 7, 2012, I was incredibly proud to be part of the Top 20 Under 20 Awards Breakfast in Toronto, Ontario.

One of One! International's young supporters received one of the coveted awards.
He certainly deserved it.

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We know Canada is full of remarkable youth leaders; they volunteer diligently in their community to support a cause they believe in, they lead international disaster relief efforts, they are leading scientific research to cure some of the world’s most devastating diseases, and are laying blueprints for the next great invention.

Top 20 Under 20™is a national youth awards program presented by Youth in Motion and sponsored by Intact Foundation, BMO Capital Markets, CTV, The Globe and Mail, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario, PepsiCo Canada, and many other organizations and corporations who believe in youth as the future of this country.

Top 20 Under 20™ is open to all young Canadians under the age of 20 - regardless of race, gender and/or religious affiliations..... only requirement is that ..... leadership and innovation has led to the betterment of ...... school, community, province and/or country

All of the hundreds of applications received by Youth in Motion are reviewed and shortlisted to 42 applications. A national judging panel completes the final assessment and selection. The national judges are all individuals "...who have made significant contributions to the world of education, business, and not-for-profit community."

                      Anjan Katta was one of the successful award recipients.

Anjan has volunteered twice at the One! International school at Khar Dhanda, Mumbai, India. His first volunteer experience was as a 15 year old. On his second volunteer experience two years later he learned about the difficulties finding qualified teachers to teach the children in slum communities. Wages for teachers in India are generally quite low, and there are fewer teachers wanting to teach the less fortunate children.

" When he returned to Canada, Mr. Katta did two things: He formed a non-profit organization called the Voice of Youth to raise funds for the education of slum kids of Mumbai; and he set up the British Columbia Model United Nations to give more B.C. High-school students opportunities to attend Model United Nations weekend conferences where young people discuss solutions to pressing world issues.
Registration fees from the conferences - which cost each student $40 - have helped Mr. Katta raise money for Voice of Youth.  So far, Voice of Youth has donated $18,000......."

Anjan Katta donated $6,555 to One! International to provide bonus payments for the teachers over several years.

If the quality of the young people who received awards is any indication of Canada's future - we will be in good hands.

Following are some highlights of the other 19 award recipients.

• ...  created the Bio-Inspired Photonic Fuel Cell. This innovative fuel cell design uses photosensitizers to enhance electricity production at a fraction of the cost. These fuel cells can be used for a variety of applications from electronic gadgets to automobiles.
• ...is working on developing a composting program at ..... school and hopes to see the day where the Urban Garden project supplies all the food to .... high school.....
• .... created Discovery Days in Mental Health (DDMH), to educate others about mental health issues. These workshops have been presented to 600 elementary, high school and university students in ..... community.
• ....has developed a method to filter water using a recyclable water bottle, clothing fabric and a solar water disinfection process (SODIS) - a method of purifying water with UV radiation in sunlight.
• ...founded The Mental Health Project to educate teens about the resources available to help them cope with depression and to encourage a full recovery.
• ..... work with Prostate Cancer has received national recognition, including Best-in-Fair honors at the Canada Wide Science Fair and he has co-authored a chapter published in the peer-reviewed textbook, Prostate Cancer: From Bench to Bedside.
• . ..started the very first Youth Advisory Council for...., a non-profit organization, offers support to people living with cancer, HIV/AIDS, as well as many other illnesses..... has raised almost $110,000..... raised over $60,000 for childhood leukemia research and help to fund three research fellowships.
• ....is an established social activist and has spoken before audiences of over 5,000 youth. Currently the CEO of the Ontario Student Trustees' Association, and past President of the Gay-Straight Alliance in ... high school, ... now advises AstraZeneca Canada's Young Health Program, advocating for youth mental health nation-wide.
• “As an individual takes a step, kinetic energy is produced. Knowledge of this simple concept led me to think up the idea for PowerSole. [A shoe] that converts kinetic energy into electrical energy that can be used to charge essential electronic devices like phones and LED flashlights.”
• ....encourage youth volunteerism and work towards transforming common stigmas youth have regarding community service... established Dollars for Dreams (D4D) to raise money to save the lives of children in developing countries.
• designed a wheelchair adaptation to help prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients confined to a wheelchair, as well as to avoid scar tissue build-up post surgery and speed up recovery time through improved circulation in the legs.
• ...created a new way to channel the information sent through short documents like a status update. His algorithm aims to harness all the information available in these “micro documents.”
• ...co-founded Run for Rocky, a fundraiser which grossed $19,000 for pancreatic cancer research to honour the late.............., a beloved teacher..... who died of the disease....... persuaded the Board to reverse its prohibition on smart phones in schools, introduce transparent student fees policies and limit in-school video advertising..... also successfully lobbied for a $10,000 increase in funding for student leadership programs.
•  .......helped to immunize over 30 people for polio and lead cancer patients through the surgery process........ duties also included sometimes taking an active part in some procedures.
• .......fought to bring a Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) to her school...... has had her music featured on the popular teen sitcom ‘Degrassi,’ plans to use her music as a channel to educate others on social issues.
• .....recalling the challenges faced by his grandfather, who is a glaucoma sufferer, led the engineering of a belt that used sensory technology to relay information to the user about their surroundings - an idea that won the team a National Award.
• ....led the creation and the scientific blueprint for a flu vaccine pill. This patented invention is the world’s first non-invasive vaccine delivery technique, and has the potential to replace needles as the delivery method for other compounds such as insulin.
• .....organization helps children with disabilities through music. ..... endeavoured to reach a mass audience with his work and has successfully secured media attention at both the local and international level.
• As a keynote speaker at the 2011 Cystic Fibrosis Canada Key for a Cure Gala, over $100,000 was raised ten minutes after ........ his speech. “Seeing the hope on the patients’ and their families’ faces as I met them face-to-face made me believe deeply in the mantra that I could change the world – one person at a time,” .....

The accomplishments of these twenty young people - all under the age of twenty -  is quite awe inspiring. It was an honour to be at the Awards Ceremony and witness one of "Our" young people receive his award.