OTTAWA (June 16, 2009) - Vancouver student Lauren Law is one of four teenagers invited by the British Council in Switzerland to speak at the final plenary session of the Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF) on June 24 in Geneva. The Vancouver Technical Secondary School student will join students from South Africa, India and Myanmar to talk about their experiences of climate change impacts on their communities with Heads of State and CEOs of international corporations. They are all part of the British Council’s “Global Changemakers” programme that involves students in major international conferences such as the World Economic Forum in Davos and the G20 Summit.

Global Changemakers are a select group of youth who have demonstrated a significant track record of achievement in their local communities through social entrepreneurship, community activism, and voluntary work. These young people are part of a global network whose purpose it is to share knowledge, ideas and best practices, and work individually and jointly on projects that have direct impact on the lives of those in their local communities.

“I hope the Global Humanitarian Forum will act as a vessel for dialogue, helping to bridge the gap between youth leaders and adult world leaders,” says Ms. Law, who leaves for Switzerland on June 20. “Encountering other equally passionate environmental ambassadors will hopefully inspire me to return to Canada and implement my gained knowledge through an initiative.”

The four Global Changemakers attending the GHF have developed projects of their own to combat climate change at grassroots level and will be voicing the actions and initiatives of the young generation. In 2008 Lauren Law started an environmental program called “Plan-et for the Future” which is dedicated to developing sustainable practices in her inner-city community and promoting environmental awareness among elementary school students.

Chaired by Kofi Annan, the Global Humanitarian Forum will hold its second meeting from Tuesday 23 to Wednesday 24 June 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland. Over 400 high-level international participants from wide-raging sectors, including Heads of State and government, ministers, and heads of major corporations, and development and humanitarian organisations will gather in Geneva for the event.

Information:

Until June 19: Margret Brady at the British Council in Ottawa, cell: 1(613)301-5922 or email margret.brady@britishcouncil.org.

June 20-26: Katherine Hermans on 011-41-31-560-3781 or e-mail katherine.hermans@britishcouncil.org.

www.capefarewellcanada .ca and www.global-changemakers.net

Notes to Editors:

Profile:

Lauren Law is an 18-year-old Grade 12 student at Vancouver Technical Secondary where she is involved in the school’s student council as an ambassador and public relations speaker.  She plans to study environmental studies and political science at the University of Victoria. In 2008 she started an environmental program called “Plan-et for the Future” which is dedicated to developing sustainable practices in her inner-city community and promoting environmental awareness among elementary school students. She has been involved with a number of national and international environmental leadership initiatives including the 2007 Greening Cities International Youth Summit in London, England and the British Council’s Road-to-Davos Forum in Guildford, England in 2008. She attended the World Wildlife Fund Canada’s Earth Flotilla and volunteered with the WWF promoting their Footprint Challenge through presentations she has given to elementary schools.  Last year she travelled to the Arctic with the “Students on Ice” program. Recently, she was selected as the first environmental 2010 Olympic Torchbearer to be selected by Coca-Cola in British Columbia.

The British Council

• The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.
• We operate in 233 towns and cities in 109 countries and territories worldwide.
• We build relationships and understanding between people in the UK and other countries and increase appreciation of the UK’s ideas and achievements overseas.
• The areas we focus on are creativity, education and civil society.
• We are a non-political organisation which operates at arm’s length from government.