Canada World Youth (CWY, in French : Jeunesse Canada Monde, JCM) was an international non-profit organization dedicated to providing youth with a voluntary opportunity to learn about other communities, cultures and people while developing leadership and communications skills.
Founded in 1971 by Jacques Hébert (1923–2007) a former Canadian senator and lifelong promoter of youth and international development programs, Canada World Youth has sent over 50,000 youth volunteers in 69 countries worldwide to participate in its programs. The organization is currently in the process of winding down operations.
Save Canada World Youth is a grassroots movement initiated by alumni of the Canada World Youth/Jeunesse Canada Monde (CWY/JCM) program, which is a non-profit organization that focuses on providing international volunteer and exchange opportunities for Canadian youth. The movement was formed in response to the Canadian government's decision to significantly cut funding for the CWY/JCM program in 2012. The alumni believe that the CWY program has had a significant impact on the lives of Canadian youth and the communities they serve around the world and that it is an important tool for promoting cross-cultural understanding and global citizenship. The Save Canada World Youth movement aims to raise awareness about the value of the CWY program and to encourage the Canadian government to reinstate funding to ensure its continued success. The movement has organized various campaigns, including a petition on Change.org, social media campaigns, and outreach to Canadian parliamentarians and decision-makers, to draw attention to the importance of the CWY program and the need to secure its future. [1] [2] [3]
Due to COVID-19 and political factors, the youth program was discontinued to the dismay and heartbreak of alumni in 2022. [4]
AIESEC is an international "youth-run" and led, non-governmental and not-for-profit organization that provides young people with business development internships. The organization focuses on empowering young people to make a progressive social impact. The AIESEC network includes approximately 40,000 members in 120+ countries.
Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association, providing programs for young people, between the ages of 5 and 26. It's aim is "To help develop well-rounded youth, better prepared for success in the world". Scouts Canada, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
JAWorldwide is a global non-profit youth organization. It was founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learning programs in the areas of work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship to students.
Youth Parliament of Manitoba Inc. (YPM) is a non-partisan, non-denominational, and incorporated registered charity based in Manitoba, Canada.
WE Charity, formerly known as Free the Children, is an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger. The organization implemented development programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America, focusing on education, water, health, food and economic opportunity. It also runs domestic programming for young people in Canada, the US and UK, promoting corporate-sponsored service learning and active citizenship. Charity Intelligence, a registered Canadian charity that rates over 750 Canadian charities, rates the "demonstrated impact" per dollar of We Charity as "Low" and has issued a "Donor Advisory" due to We Charity replacing most of its board of directors in 2020.
Princeton AlumniCorps is an American nonprofit organization that promotes civic leadership and the development of solutions to problems that affect the public interest. It was established in 1989 as Princeton Project 55.
The Montreal World Film Festival, commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019. Founded and run throughout its lifetime by Serge Losique, it was the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF..
There have been American Scouts overseas since almost the inception of the movement, often for similar reasons as the present day. Within the Scouting America formerly the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), these expatriate Scouts are now served by two overseas local Councils. Within the Girl Scouts of the USA, the USAGSO serves such a purpose.
The 519, formerly known as The 519 Church Street Community Centre, is an agency by the City of Toronto. A Canadian charitable, non-profit organization, it operates a community centre in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 519 serves both its local neighbourhood and the broader lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) communities in the Toronto area. The 519 defines its local neighbourhood by a catchment area that spans from Bloor Street to the north to Gerrard Street to the south, and from Bay Street in the west to Parliament Street in the east.
Marc Kielburger is a Canadian author, social entrepreneur, columnist, humanitarian and activist for children's rights. He is the co-founder, along with his brother Craig, of the We Movement, which consists of the WE Charity, an international development and youth empowerment organization; Me to We, a for-profit company selling lifestyle products, leadership training and travel experience; and We Day, an annual youth empowerment event. In 2010, he was named a member of the Order of Canada by the Governor General of Canada.
Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) is a global non-governmental youth music organization founded in Brussels, Belgium, in 1945. Its mission is to "enable young people to develop through music across all boundaries." JMI operates in four primary areas: Young Musicians, Young Audiences, Youth Empowerment, and Youth Orchestras & Ensembles.
Citizen Corps is a program under the Department of Homeland Security, founded in 2002 as part of the USA Freedom Corps, that provides training for the population of the United States to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack. Each local Citizen Corps Council partners with organizations, volunteers and businesses to organize responders, volunteers and professional first responders for an efficient response so efforts are not wasted by being duplicated. By training in Incident Command, volunteers know whom to report to and how the incident is organized. This prevents sites from being inundated by untrained and unprepared personnel preventing operation. Citizen Corps also works in conjunction with the Corporation for National and Community Service in promoting national service opportunities for promoting homeland security needs.
The Air Cadet League of Canada is a volunteer organization that provides financial support and oversight to the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. The Air Cadet League owns all of the aircraft used in the Air Cadet Gliding Program. The League is organized into three levels: the National, the Provincial, and the local level, each of which is responsible for different areas of the League.
NetCorps was a volunteer-organizing coalition consisting of nine Canadian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and managed by the NetCorps coordination unit. Through the program, the organizations created international information and communication technologies (ICT) internships in developing countries around the world. Interns typically participated in six-month programs, leaving between August and November for host organizations in the placement countries. Positions were limited to 19–30-year-old Canadian citizens or landed immigrants who had "appropriate information and communication technologies skills". Typical duties included creating webpages, developing databases, computer networking, setting up hardware, preparing manuals and other documentation, and general-to-advanced computer instruction.
Youth Challenge International (YCI) is a youth-centered, non-profit, non-religious, non-governmental organization focused on international development issues. It aims to equip developing country youth with skills and resources to contribute positively to their communities along with engaging Canadian youths in international development and social justice issues. Over 201 Canadian youth volunteer overseas annually with YCI.
KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives is a Canadian faith-based ecumenical organization with an aim to effect social change through advocacy, education and research programs in indigenous rights, ecological justice, women of courage, and migrant justice. These programs are informed by, and networked with, approximately 21 partner organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, in about eighty local grassroots groups across Canada, as well as other organizations, churches and individuals.
Cuso International is a Canadian international development organization that connects communities around the world with skilled Canadians to help end poverty and inequality. Established in 1961, Cuso International has deployed more than 15,000 volunteers and has worked in more than 100 countries on long-term development projects.
Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) is a Canadian charitable organization and social enterprise that provides technology, entrepreneurship and leadership training programs for young people in East Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Canada. The organization's headquarters are in Ottawa, Ontario, with local operations around the globe. Since the organization was founded in 2001, DOT has directly affected more than 6,000 young people worldwide, who have gone on to reach over 1 million of their fellow community members. More than 90% of alumni, reportedly secure employment or start their own businesses within six months of completing DOT programming.
Dax Dasilva is a Canadian tech entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. Dasilva founded the e-commerce company Lightspeed in 2005, which went public in 2019 at a valuation of $1.7 billion. He was CEO of Lightspeed for 16 years, until stepping down in February 2022. Dasilva was reappointed CEO in 2024. Dasilva is the author of the 2019 book Age of Union about leadership, culture, spirituality, and nature. He is also the founder of two nonprofit organizations; the arts and culture organization Never Apart, and Age of Union Alliance, which funds conservation projects around the world.