POTENTIAL INTO IMPACT
Real questions cross subject lines.
Twelve finalist initiatives came together at the 2025 summit across STEAM, social entrepreneurship, future technology, and ethics and rights. Photojournalism about immigrant youth, computational biology, aerospace and community service brought different ways of understanding the world onto one stage.
AI specialists, an aerospace entrepreneur, civic leaders and student founders contributed perspectives from their own work. The breadth of the program made room for a larger educational question: how can young people connect technical knowledge, human understanding and a purpose of their own?
- Finalist student organizations & projects
- 12
- Thematic tracks
- 4
- Prize pool
- CAD 5,000+
SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS
Research, creative work and community action.
01
Keep human questions in the picture
Four tracks brought science, the arts, enterprise, technology and ethics into one program, giving students a view of questions beyond their own field.
02
Bring lived experience into the work
Students used storytelling and multimedia to explore immigrant experiences and relationships across generations, bringing family and community life into their work.
03
Young voices in the media spotlight
Interviews with OMNI Television put student voices in the spotlight, giving young people a platform to share their projects and ideas beyond the summit.
COMMUNITY. EXPERTISE. OPPORTUNITY.
More fields of experience. More ways into a question.
Selected participating organizations
Participating organizations brought perspectives from civil rights, education, technology and entrepreneurship, widening the conversation around students’ interests.
Civil liberties & rights
Canadian Civil Liberties Association
Defends civil liberties and human rights in Canada and works to hold public institutions accountable.
Visit website ↗
Civic education
Section 1
Advances informed citizenship through research, education and public discussion.
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Women in technology
Empower Women in Tech Alliance
Connects women, girls and allies with opportunities and leadership in STEM.
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Educational access
Educate for Tomorrow
Works to make quality educational opportunities available to more young people.
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Youth entrepreneurship
SPRINT · UCC World Affairs Conference
Supports student ventures through innovation challenges, guidance and showcases.
Student-led advocacy
Federation of Canadian Secondary Students
A youth-led charity supporting high-school students taking action in their schools and communities.
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AI & global competition
International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence · Canada
Challenges young AI problem-solvers and selects Canada’s team for international competition.
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Young women’s leadership
The Pink Stairs
Supports young women through community, opportunities and leadership development.
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Culture & identity
Bridging Generations
Explores immigrant family stories through documentary and art.
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Student business leadership
Canada FBLA · Canadian National Leadership Conference
Brings students together through business competitions and a national leadership conference.
Industry expertise
ExpertEase
Connects students with industry experts and the work they do.
Visit website ↗Youth growth & resilience
Fail Better
Met students at the summit to discuss growth and ways of responding to challenges.
More photos from the summit · 4 photos
SPEAKERS & COMMUNITY LEADERS
Selected speakers and judges
Peter L. Biro
Founder & President, Section 1 · Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto Law
An expert in constitutional law and democracy, and Chair Emeritus of the Jane Goodall Institute, Global.
Dr. Sebastian Maurice
Founder & CTO, OTICS Advanced Analytics
Has nearly 25 years of AI experience, with machine-learning patents and published work on real-time data streams.
Dr. Jeremy Wang
Co-Founder & COO, Ribbit
An aerospace engineer working on autonomous flight and air transport for remote communities.
Aileen Wang
University of Pennsylvania · Economics & International Relations
Shares experience in student leadership, private equity internships and exploring careers in finance and investment banking.
Gavin Cheung
Co-Founder, MotionGrey · BCBusiness 30 Under 30
Draws on experience in entrepreneurship, business growth and student guidance as a judge.
Neelima Mangal
Founder, Empower Women in Tech Alliance
A technology executive with leadership experience at Apple, AT&T and Wells Fargo, and an advocate for women in technology.
Victor Xu
Founder & President, The Green Society · Returning student leader
Returns as a judge to share experience in building a youth-led environmental initiative.
YOUTH-LED IMPACT
From photojournalism to research, students followed different questions.
These twelve finalist initiatives show students pursuing their interests through research, creative work and community action.
$1,500 · Changemaker Award
Narratives of New Canadian Youth
Uses photojournalism to share the lives and experiences of immigrant youth in Canada.
$1,500 · Changemaker Award
PeroxyBio
Uses computational research to investigate biological questions involving oxidative stress.
$1,000 · Trailblazer Award
Youth Canadian Aerospace Team
A student-led team exploring aerospace.
$1,000 · Trailblazer Award
Bridging Generations
Visit website ↗Explores cultural identity and relationships across generations in immigrant families through multimedia work.
Music For Seniors
Brings live performances by young musicians to long-term care homes, creating connections across generations.
The PassNPlay Project
Expands young people’s access to sport through equipment donations and fundraising.
Canada FutureFocus
Uses podcasts, media and community action to address social issues, including health inequalities and food insecurity.
Heroic Citizenship Project · Section 1
Explores constitutional literacy, civic responsibility and democratic participation.
SDG Change Challenge
Helps students develop solutions and prototypes around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
TidalTasks AI
Explores smarter planning tools to help students organize schoolwork, activities and everyday life.
AURA AI
Explores computer vision and AI for food information and personalized nutrition.
AURA · Autism Understanding and Response Assistant
Explores interactive AI learning activities for children with autism.
STUDENT SPEAKERS
Meet the students behind the work
Selected student speakers
John Karakoulas
AURA AI
Eudee Niu
AURA (Autism Understanding and Response Assistant)
Katherine Ma
Daniel Pu
Canada FutureFocus
Jonathan Ye
Canada FutureFocus
Mostafa Zandkarimi
Heroic Citizenship Project from Section 1
Crystal Liu
Music For Seniors
Fiona Meng
Music For Seniors
Grace Zhu
Music For Seniors
Angela Long
Narratives of New Canadian Youth
Clayton Yang
Narratives of New Canadian Youth
Karan Maheshwari
PeroxyBio
Sai Amartya
TidalTasks AI
Ishaan Dhiman
TidalTasks AI
Dhairya Shah
TidalTasks AI
Alex Zeng
The PassNPlay Project
Alfred Liu
The PassNPlay Project
Jahniah Provo
SDG Change Challenge
Pranav Thukral
SDG Change Challenge
Casper Dong
Youth Canadian Aerospace Team
Student organizations & initiatives
- AURA AI
- AURA (Autism Understanding and Response Assistant)
- Bridging Generations ↗
- Canada FutureFocus
- Heroic Citizenship Project · Section 1
- Music For Seniors
- Narratives of New Canadian Youth
- PeroxyBio
- TidalTasks AI
- The PassNPlay Project
- SDG Change Challenge
- Youth Canadian Aerospace Team
More photos from the summit · 30 photos
BEYOND THE SUMMIT
Student work, reaching a wider audience
Selected media coverage and partners
BUILD WHAT COMES NEXT
Help open the next door for young people.
Schools, non-profits, student organizations and industry partners all have something to bring. Share the questions your community is working on and the expertise you can offer. Together, we can give more young people opportunities to present their work, exchange ideas and contribute.
Talk about collaborating