Between the ages of 20 and 30, Global Shapers are chosen because of their entrepreneurial track record and potential for future leadership.
Hugues Boisvert, founder of local law firm HazloLaw, is one of Ottawa’s Global Shapers and is acting as curator of the group that will together form a “hub” in Ottawa.
“It’s really putting Ottawa on the map at the international level,” he said, having just returned from a trip to Geneva, Switzerland to meet with fellow curators from 142 countries around the world.
Global Shapers’ hubs are responsible for undertaking an impact-generating project to better the local community. Additionally, hub members organize workshops, meetings with leaders and other activities that increase leadership abilities.
A launch event for Ottawa’s hub will be held within the next few weeks, Mr. Boisvert said, and a project will be chosen within a month.
Currently, Mr. Boisvert is reaching out to organizations with a local presence including the United Way to determine local problems that should be solved.
Depending on the depth and breadth of the chosen project, up to three could be completed a year, Mr. Boisvert said.
Launched in 2011, the World Economic Forum’s community of Global Shapers now includes more than 1,200 leaders under the age of 30 across the globe.
Previous projects include a national media campaign in Mali aimed at inspiring young people to vote; a project aiming to set up 200 libraries in the Philippines to close the education gap; a drive to encourage millions of mobile phone subscribers in India to make small philanthropic donations with their bill payments; and an earthquake recovery project in the tsunami-hit region of Tohuku, Japan.
Ottawa’s Global Shapers include:
Hugues Boisvert, founder of HazloLaw
Maria Banda, law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada
Giovanna Mingarelli, president and co-founder of M&C Consulting Inc.
Vinod Rajasekaran, co-founder and executive director of Hub Ottawa
Chloe Langevin, advisor at the Quebec Ministry of Natural Resources and Wildlife
Japman Bajaj, co-founder and chief financial officer of Soshal Group Inc.
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