THE SWY 29 CANADIAN DELEGATION

Dr. Henry Tsang is an architect & educator pioneering the design, research and education of sustainable architectural design around the world. He teaches in the sustainable architectural technology program at Herzing College in Montreal, and is a visiting professor in the department of architecture at Keimyung University in South Korea. Passionate about green buildings, he is a certified LEED professional, member of the Order of Architects of Quebec, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, serves as ambassador to the Living Building Challenge Program and education advisor to the Canada Green Building Council. Of Hong Kong descent, Henry was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. He majored in architecture at McGill University where he completed a B.Sc.Arch and a M.Arch. In 2002, he ventured to Japan awarded with the Monbukagakusho Scholarship by the Government of Japan to pursue doctoral studies at the University of Tokyo. Upon graduation, he practiced as an architect at Japanese architecture firm Nihon Sekkei, collaborating with the Japan international Cooperation Agency (JICA) on international development ODA projects, including the design of the University of Indonesia Health Campus and reconstruction work for the 2011 Tohoku earthquake with Habitat for Humanity. He also served as Board Director to the NGO, Cooperation and Emergency Architects. As a teacher, he has been invited as a speaker and design critic at Nihon University, Hanyang University, Dawson College, Concordia University, McGill University, TED and the United Nations (UNEP). In 2015, he was presented with the Educator of the Year Award by the National Association of Career Colleges of Canada recognizing his inspiration towards his students to better the world we live in. Besides work, Henry loves to travel and learn new languages; he speaks English, French, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

Stephanie Shyluk, born and raised on the prairies in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, graduated in 2010 from the University of Saskatchewan with a BA Honours in International Development. In 2014 she received a certificate in Non-Profit Management from Mount Royal University. Some of the experiences that helped shape her professional aspirations include: participating in the Katimavik program, an experiential learning program for Canadian youth to explore community engagement in different regions of Canada; attending a 5-week course in South Africa on their history, politics and society; and completing Next Up, a leadership program organized around social and environmental justice.  As an undergraduate she participated in three sessions of community service learning with local organizations that were focused on poverty reduction and community engagement.  It was this combination of experiences that encouraged her to find an application for her academic background closer to home, and which led to a career in community development.  Stephanie currently enjoys working with the Saskatoon Open Door Society, an immigrant and refugee settlement agency, where she acts as a community development worker coordinating programming for newcomers to Canada, and supervising and supporting volunteers. She feels fortunate to work for an organization in which her passion for community and intercultural engagement continue to inform both her personal and professional life. In her leisure time, she enjoys gardening, reading, and going on adventures with her partner and their dog.

Kevin, 26, is a 4th generation Japanese Canadian. Born in Toronto to parents Marty and Dawna, he has one older sister, Kristin, and a large extended family. He graduated from Western University with an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree. At Western, Kevin was involved as a “Soph” in the Orientation Program. His faculty team won the Spirit Award for positive enthusiasm, and the Charity Award for the top fundraising team on behalf of The Terry Fox Foundation and Shinerama for cystic fibrosis. Kevin was also a voting member of the University Students’ Council. After graduation, Kevin accepted a job at ECC Japan. He taught conversational English and was rated number 1 teacher in his second year at the company. He also taught at Chihaya High School, lectured at Yokohama City University and worked with businesses in the Kanto area. After moving back to Canada, Kevin has been working in mutual fund sales at one of the top firms in the country. The Kobayashi Family has played an integral role in the establishment of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. The JCCC’s motto of “Friendship through Culture” parallels Kevin’s personal beliefs and has become a mantra in his daily life. Kevin believes in the equal treatment of all Canadians, particularly in gender and human rights issues. With a focus on global understanding, co-operation and communication, he hopes to someday help eliminate international misconceptions and disputes. In his spare time, Kevin leads an active lifestyle and competed on Canada's national equestrian circuit. He loves to cook, read and travel and continually seeks adventure and new experiences.

David Lipton was born and raised in Oakville, Ontario. Throughout his childhood, David held a passion for active citizenship and volunteerism as well as a strong interest in global affairs. This passion drove David to attend Dalhousie University where he graduated in December 2015 with a B.A honours in International Development studies. At Dalhousie, he fortified his position as a social justice warrior while developing a special interest in social marketing and representations of global development and poverty. After graduation, David headed to South Africa for a six-month volunteer internship with LetsStopAIDS through the Canadian Global Affairs International Youth Internship Program (IYIP). Functioning as a youth engagement coordinator, he worked to enhance the HIV knowledge, leadership and life skills of youth in his South African community in an effort to improve health and overall socioeconomic outcomes. From his time overseas, David was inspired to design and develop his own youth program back in Canada. Titled IDEYA (Interdisciplinary Development Engineered by Young Activists), David’s program will serve as a platform for young people to explore different pathways of engagement with different social issues in their local and global communities. David hopes with the help of friends and family to turn his IDEYA into a reality in 2017 and help spawn a generation of compassionate, empowered, and engaged Canadian youth. In his free time, you’ll find David playing soccer, hanging with friends and family, or watching his beloved Toronto sports team. He’s always high energy with a smile on his face.

Estefania was born and raced in Quito, Ecuador. She moved to Canada 7 years ago and she has been a proud Canadian citizen for the last two years. Estefania, or as her friends know her, Tefa, is the second of five children and she jumps out of bed with a big smile on her face each morning because of the amazing family she has. Because of their love and support, she has been able to follow her dream, which is to connect with people and work with them first hand. Her desire to work with communities allowed her to be part of the Zambia Global Leadership Program run by Douglas College. During last summer, she worked in a government clinic with the gender-based violence office and with the counseling and testing HIV clinic. This experience helped her to reaffirm her dream of working with minority groups. She is currently completing her foundations for her psych nursing degree. She also volunteers at Eagle Ridge Hospital, has a full-time job, mentors a 15 years old and, in her spare time she loves going for hikes with her dog and baking for her family and friends. Tefa is a positive person and she believes in every crazy dream that people have, she believes that the best is always yet to come and she tries changing the world little by little. She firmly believes that with the right attitude everything can be achieved. 

Born and raised in Montreal, Gabrielle Tremblay holds a master degree in International Studies (University of Montreal) and a bachelor degree in Sociology (University of Quebec in Montreal). Specialized in climate change adaptation, gender equality and local development, she as worked for the last five years in international development within international NGOs (International Bureau for Children’s Rights, Canada World Youth, Oxfam) as coordinator in monitoring and evaluation, gender equality and sustainable development at HQ in Canada as well as in Vietnam, Senegal, Ghana, and Democratic Republic of Congo.  With the aim to highlights the key role of rural populations in climate change adaptation, particularly women, she contributed to disseminate information and transferred knowledge by publishing a book chapter on climate change adaptation strategies in small-scale agriculture among rural communities in Senegal. Furthermore, she organized a thematic exhibition on gender and sustainable development in rural communities, based on Oxfam projects in Vietnam and Burkina Faso. To date, over 50 000 peoples were reached through this exhibition in different regions of Quebec, in Canada. Engage in the environmental cause, Gabrielle also volunteers for David Suzuki Foundation, World Social Forum and previously for Amnesty International to contribute to enhancing citizen participation in sustainable development. Passionate about foreign cultures, she traveled in more than 40 countries in South East Asia, Central America, Maghreb, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and North America.  Gabrielle loves yoga, scuba diving, and photography. She speaks French and English.  

Jennifer Whittaker was born and raised in Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island. She is currently finishing her MSc in Agriculture through Dalhousie University and works with the PEI Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. There she focuses mainly on soil nutrient management, soil health and quality. She is half Canadian and Japanese and has been fortunate to visit and live in Japan for parts of her life. Her main interests are agriculture, food production and science outreach. She enjoys the challenge and complexity in bridging knowledge between scientists, farmers, and the public especially focussed in youth education. Some recent projects include an intergenerational gardening project, an outdoor environmental education program, Let’s Talk Science and agricultural open house days. Throughout her undergraduate degree, she was fortunate to travel to many countries, mostly for school including Japan, Turkey and Kenya and at home she continues to volunteer with international students and newcomers to PEI. She speaks English, French, Japanese and small amounts of Turkish and enjoys picking up new words and languages. She has always been interested in learning about how your environment can shape who you are, especially in Canada where many have such diverse backgrounds. One day she hopes to combine her passions for agriculture, education and travel.

Killaq Enuaraq-Strauss is a 20-year-old student currently studying International Studies, Anthropology and Journalism at the University of Florida. She was born in Montreal and raised in Iqaluit, Nunavut. She spends much of her time writing and speaking about indigenous rights and the rights of all marginalized groups. At the age of 16 Killaq was given a full scholarship to attend Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in Metchosin, British Columbia. Pearson is one of 15 international schools that are part of a movement called United World Colleges, which emphasises using education as a tool to create peace and sustainability. At this school, Killaq lived with students from over 80 countries was able to learn about other cultures whilst also sharing her own Inuit traditions. It was at this school that she became truly interested in leadership on a global level. After University, Killaq is hoping to travel and write about the ways in which Indigenous peoples around the world have survived and grown after colonization, and hopes to look at indigenous sustainability practices.

Matika has for many years been passionate about cultures and languages from all around the world. Born in Romania Matika was adopted and raised in Canada. As a result, Matika quickly learnt the importance of learning about other cultures. Matika grew up in a small town of Haileybury in Northern Ontario and became involved with a series of organizations and clubs such as the Improvisation club, student council and Francophone Youth Federation of Ontario while in high school. Matika studied at the University of Ottawa and graduated with a double major degree in political science and history. While at the University of Ottawa Matika was actively involved with the COOP student association, AIESEC and the Kiwanis Club to name a few. Matika has volunteered actively in the Ottawa community. Matika was selected in 2015 as an Ottawa Global Shaper an initiative created by the World Economic Forum. Matika is also very involved in the Korean community in Ottawa having volunteered now for various events over the past seven years. In his spare time, Matika enjoys studying languages, listening to classical music, watching anime, meeting up with friends and singing.

Moussa Sène is a 28-year-old sociologist and a community organizer. He comes from Montreal via Dakar and has been involved in youth and civic organisations for the past ten years in Canada, Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico and Senegal. Depending on who you ask, Moussa is Senegalese or Canadian; Catholic, Muslim, or atheist; fair-skinned or dark-skinned; privileged or oppressed. From his own experience navigating across various “contradictory” identities, Moussa is interested in how social constructs like race, gender, and religion create dynamics of power that affect us as individuals and as communities. Judith Thurman said that “every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you've never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground”. This is Moussa’s relationship to Japan. Although he has never had the chance to visit the country, he has always been fascinated by Japan’s culture, way of life and people. He is honored and humbled to be one of the 2017 Canadian delegates on board of the Ship for World Youth, and he is looking forward developing new friendships and learning from new experiences.

Ryme Lahcene finds that nothing helps her better transcend her own limits than to be thrown in the unknown, discovering new places, sharing moments, ideas and customs with new friends. She believes that the reason behind her need for adventure stems from her nomadic roots. She was brought up within three cultures: she grew up in Belgium in a Moroccan-Berber family, then at the age of ten, moved to Canada, where she has lived in five different provinces and seven cities. She is convinced that her insatiable love for social justice and for change stems from all those places she discovered, the people she met and the experiences shared. She is passionate about the issues of today: environmental sustainability, discrimination against minorities, indigenous rights and feminism. For many years, she volunteered with new immigrants in the Welcome Committee of her school. She also volunteered at Atira Women’s Resource Society and took part in a Women's Exchange with CWY, where she worked in Ontario for an environmental organisation dedicated to turtle and wetlands conservation and as a teacher’s assistant in a special needs class in Tanzania. Besides, she highly values creativity, trying to incorporate art in all aspect of her life. She is also a big improv fan and she even got to represent BC as the team captain at The Canadian Francophone Games in 2014. She now facilitates leadership and improv workshops throughout BC for francophone youth. She is ecstatic to be a part of this fantastic experience and is thankful beyond words to have been chosen on the SWY29 team.

Sareema Husain is a 19-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Her parents immigrated from Pakistan in 1990 and she is a first generation Canadian. She is an avid storyteller and in her free time, she enjoys using different multimedia tools to help convey messages. She prefers a nomadic lifestyle as there are few things she enjoys more than immersing herself into foreign cultures and making meaningful connections with people she wouldn’t ordinarily meet in her daily life. Sareema has mentored slam poets, has held leadership roles in university publications and volunteers with Amnesty International. She is relentlessly curious about the world around her and is always asking questions, especially the uncomfortable ones. In her spare time, she can be found drinking tea, working out, listening to post-rock music or writing. Her areas of interest include media, feminism, human rights and international cooperation. She is eager to become more socially, environmentally and politically aware of her impact and learn how to better interact with the world around her. She believes that using her voice is one of her greatest responsibilities and you can peep at her writing at gallivantingpunk.wordpress.com She is ecstatic to be a part of the SWY 29 Canadian delegation and cannot wait for all that is to come.