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Help me represent Canada in Japan!

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Support one of Canada’s emerging leaders in bringing their voice to the world stage…

Donovan is proud to be the only Atlantic Canadian chosen from a country-wide competitive recruitment process for the Young Diplomats of Canada's delegation to Tokyo, Japan, to represent youth and influence world leaders at the upcoming G7 Summit. He needs your help to be a champion for social justice and sustainability.

“Young people who have the opportunities to fulfill their dreams  become lifelong  leaders”

 Meet Donovan Taplin:

Donovan Taplin is a storyteller and young global citizen. As a student in his final year of a Bachelor of Arts Degree at Memorial University majoring in Communications with a certificate in Public Policy, Donovan studies the intersections of narratives and social change.

At the age of 16, after travelling to the Arctic and Antarctica on educational expeditions with Students on Ice , Donovan began a keynote presentation program to tell the stories of his experiences in the global north and south. In 2012 he was offered both of Canada’s largest merit scholarships, the National TD Scholarship for Community Leadership  and a Loran Award . In the same year he traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a delegate for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development . He was a part of a delegation advocating for the consideration of the Polar Regions – its people, land, and oceans - in the context of global sustainability. CBC Gen Why Magazine named  Donovan one of "12 Young Leaders Changing Canada".


Donovan is an Associate of the Atlantic Council for International Cooperation  (ACIC), having formerly served as a youth ambassador for ACIC where he focused on public engagement work which encouraged Atlantic Canadians to play a role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.


Elected at 19, Donovan is Newfoundland's youngest Municipal Councillor. He has served on the Wabana Town Council  the Public Relations Committee of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador , and was appointed to the Premier’s Youth Advisory Committee . With this committee Donovan has focused particularly on mental health and LGBTQ2S* issues. As an advocate for stigma reduction he was a keynote speaker for Newfoundland's first province-wide conference on mental health, was selected to represent the province at the Atlantic Summer Institute's 2015 Symposium on Child & Youth Mental Health in PEI, and was a delegate for the 2016 Jack.Org Summit in Toronto.



Donovan has been a speaker for the CBC/Radio-Canada 2017 Starts Now National Conference Series , the RESULTS Canada National Conference, and will be a TEDx Speaker for TEDxYouth@StJohns  in May 2016.

He has appeared numerous times on CBC’s On Point, CBC’s The National, VOCM Radio, Roger’s TV’s Out of the Fog, CBC Radio’s St. John’s Morning Show, and CTV’s Canada AM.

When not in front of an audience, in the council chambers, or in the classroom, Donovan has contributed to the work of many charities and non-profit organizations. Most recently Donovan supported the  Community Sector Council of Newfoundland and Labrador by leading a youth round-table on access to leadership volunteering.

Young Diplomats of Canada (YDC):
DEVELOPING CANADA'S FUTURE LEADERS IN DIPLOMACY,  POLICY, AND ADVOCACY.


YDC is a federally incorporated non-profit, non-partisan, and youth-led organization comprised of a team of volunteers who are passionate about  Canadian foreign policy, diplomacy, and international affairs. The core mission of YDC is building Canada’s next generation of global  leaders as a national voice of Canada's future foreign policy.

Young Diplomats of Canada  (YDC) develops the global leadership potential of young Canadians through hands-on training programs and key  partnerships that give delegates exclusive access to high-level geopolitical events and summits.

These experiences jettison the capacity of youth into the realm of global change makers while also emboldening their skills to improve their home    communities.

The Y7 and G7 Summits: April 30 to May 3, 2016

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, represent the world’s most advanced economies. This group of nations gather each year at the G7 Summit where Heads of State craft the agenda for global economics, environmental protection, and global security.



The Y7 Summit is the official counterpart to the G7 Summit. The young leaders of G7 nations build an international communiqué and outcome document which is directly forwarded to world leaders to inform and shape global politics from a young perspective.

As a member of the Canadian Delegation, Donovan will be responsible for strategizing and formulating a delegation vision in partnership with his colleagues. In addition Donovan will engage in domestic and international advocacy through a variety of media, including publishing thought pieces and meeting with stakeholders in government and civil society. On the ground in Japan, Donovan will negotiate with representatives from other G7 nations to build consensus and identify common goals. Ultimately, participating in the Y7 Summit will enable Donovan to have a voice in the creation of a global agenda which will work to improve the lives and  livelihoods of  people around the world.

A Message from Donovan: 

This year’s G7 Summit  represents an historic global opportunity to build on international cooperation in the area of sustainable  development, to diminish economic, racial, and gender inequalities, to strengthen international security, and to harness the untapped potential of our planet’s young people.

Guided by my core belief in the importance of helping our world’s most vulnerable people, I fully embrace this challenge alongside an inspiring team of young change agents.



It is an incredible honour to be one of 5 young Canadians chosen by the YDC to advocate for the diverse hopes, aspirations, and struggles, of millions of other young Canadians in a global context. It is a role I undertake with the utmost sense of dedication and purpose. Moreover, it is a rare and humbling   opportunity to be the sole delegate from Atlantic Canada.

I will push for an agenda which encourages world leaders to consider the impact of lack of access to mental health care on labour and economy, I will be an ally of Indigenous Communities who are too often left out and left behind, and I’ll call on summit participants to recognize their unique status and stake in sustainable development, and I will work alongside young leaders from across G7 Nations to advocate for better inclusion of LGBTQ2s content in educational curriculums.

Inspired by a mantra of ‘think global, act local’, upon my return I will venture to empower other young people to make a meaningful difference in their part of the world. I will share my story with every campus,  community, and corporation, willing to listen.

But I need your help: The summit is coming fast. Your support will help cover flights, accommodations, and other expenses associated with particpation. 

I invite you to be a part of this story. Join me as I help bring the voice of Canadian youth to a global audience.

In the spirit of hope,
Donovan

Organizer

Donovan Taplin
Organizer
Southeastern Avalon Peninsula , NL

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