OTTAWA (January 18, 2010) – Through a British Council competition, a Fergus, Ont., high school student has been picked to attend the prestigious World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting (Jan. 27-31) in Davos, Switzerland. Nishin Nathwani, a 17-year old human rights activist, was one of six young people selected to attend the high-level event. The others are from Iraq, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Japan and Botswana. The British Council received more than 1,200 applications for this opportunity.

Nishin will appear on a panel with celebrated Canadian author Margaret Atwood and will meet Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director of the World Bank. The Global Changemaker youth panel will also be featured in the final plenary session of the forum.

In November, the six Davos participants were chosen by 60 of their peers to attend the World Economic Forum. The 60 young people, who came from 44 countries, met outside London for the Global Youth Summit, a week of intense workshops, lectures and skills training to enhance their community activism and help shape their call to action to world leaders.

The Global Youth Summit is part of the British Council’s Global Changemakers program.

Global Changemakers is a network of young social entrepreneurs, social activists and volunteers (ages 16-25). They meet to share ideas and best practices, and work on projects that have direct impact on the people in their communities.  Global Changemakers are selected to participate in high-profile political and economic events each year. This is the first time a Global Changemaker from Canada has been selected to go to the World Economic Forum.

“More than excitement, I felt an incredible sense of responsibility,” says Nishin. “It is not often that youth get the opportunity to engage with political leaders at such a high caliber event, and I realized that it was not about me, but about the youth I will be representing,” he says.

Founded for the 2007 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, Global Changemakers has partnered with, and participated in, World Economic Forum events (in Davos, Sharm-el-Sheikh, and Cape Town), the Clinton Global Initiative, the Global Humanitarian Forum and the G20. Individual supporters include HM Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, President Bill Clinton, and actress Emma Thompson. The Rt Honourable Gordon Brown serves as Patron of Global Changemakers.

For information, please contact: Margret Brady, Programmes & Communications Manager, British Council Canada, telephone: 1(613)364-6237 or cell: 1(613)301-5922, margret.brady@britishcouncil.org or  Katherine Hermans, Head of Communications, Global Changemakers, Switzerland, cell: +011-41 78 693 87 75, katherine.hermans@britishcouncil.org

Photos found on the Global Changemakers website: http://www.sendspace.com/file/kpr5k6

The British Council is the UK’s international body for cultural relations. We build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. We value and promote equal opportunity and diversity. For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org/canada and www.global-changemakers.net.

Backgrounder Profile: Nishin Nathwani
Area of expertise/work: Youth work, education, human rights, children's rights, environmental issues, poverty relief.

Nishin Nathwani is a 17-year old student at Centre Wellington District High School in Fergus, Ontario and prime minister of the school’s student council. At age12, he founded the first Amnesty International group at his school, spearheading a community concert that raised $1,500 for Amnesty’s “Stop Violence Against Women Campaign”. As the current president of his school’s Amnesty Group, he led an eco-human rights fair, showcasing local businesses that promote environmental sustainability and ethical practices, such as the promotion of fair trade products. He is also president of his school’s Gay-Straight Alliance and headed “Celebration Week” – a week of events dedicated to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered issues designed to counter and stigmatise homophobic attitudes. As a result, he was named the Centre Wellington Youth Citizen of the Year in 2008 and was nominated by his community for the Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year award. He is the sole student representative on the Equity & Inclusive Education of the Upper Grand District School Board that works with the Ontario Ministry of Education to create policies to protect students against discrimination. He holds a black belt in karate, plays and teaches piano, writes poetry and teaches meditation at a local hospital and a yoga studio.