Online Thinkathon

"Our Digital Future - C'est ICI", c'est l'occasion pour moi de mettre mon énergie et mon sens de l'écoute au service d'une jeunesse qui a tant à nous dire sur notre avenir. J'ai hâte de les aider à faire entendre leur voix et faire valoir leur opinion.

Let's listen to what futurist Alvin Toffler once said, as he was writing on technological changes and their impacts on society: "The secret message communicated to most young people today by the society around them is that they are not needed, that the society will run itself quite nicely until they - at some distant point in the future - will take over the reigns. Yet the fact is that the society is not running itself nicely... because the rest of us need all the energy, brains, imagination and talent that young people can bring to bear down on our difficulties."

This was written... 45 years ago. Time to take this commitment seriously!

Katie Hayes is from Edmonton and loves getting involved in community and civic life! She has a Masters of Arts in Community Development through the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta. Katie has led the strategic design and program management for a number of community development initiatives within municipal government, including Edmonton's Digital Action Plan and Smart City program, Capital City Clean-Up and Strathcona County Victim Services volunteer program.

Katie dedicates much of her free time to volunteering with community organizations and events, traveling and going running with her rescue dog. She is also a community dance teacher working with children ages 3 and up as well as young adults. Through this program she is able to share her love of movement and performance in a recreational setting aimed at building self-confidence, creativity and teamwork in program participants. She is passionate about building community and creating opportunities for people to learn, grow and create together. Katie is thrilled to be joining Our Digital Future - C'est ICI as a mentor this spring!   

Originally from Italy, Luca is the co-founder of ThinkYoung, a Brussels-based think tank that aims to make the world a better place for young people. Luca is also a professor at the UFM Madrid, and as an active youth supporter, he's always up for new challenges! 

Paula Kirman is an award-winning writer, photographer, filmmaker, musician, and community organizer from Edmonton. She edits two community newspapers and works with numerous non-profit groups as a communications and media consultant. Some of her awards include the Award of Merit for Advocacy of Social Justice from the Edmonton Social Planning Council, The Salvos Prelorentzos Peace Award from Project Ploughshares Edmonton, and the Human Rights Champion Award from the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights for being a pioneering media artist and community organizer. A poet and singer/songwriter, she was awarded First Prize in the 2016 Edmonton Inner City Poetry Contest and was a finalist in the 2017 International Songwriting Competition. 

"President of the Intercultural Council for the city of Montreal since January 2020, Souleymane Guissé is a professional in employability and socio-professional integration. His fields of action are immigration, intercultural relations and youth. His rich career path led him to work at the Carrefour-Jeunesse emploi Bourassa-Sauvé where he was responsible for the visa program for employment of young newcomers to Canada for nearly five years. Currently, he is the coordinator of the socio-professional integration niche (an initiative aimed at integration into social economy enterprises) at the Ministère de l'Économie et l'innovation du Québec. Mr. Guissé holds a master's degree in foreign languages and cultures from the University of Grenoble in France and a master's degree in intercultural mediation from the University of Sherbrooke".

Julia is the Communications Officer of ThinkYoung. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences, a Master Degree in Crisis Communications and an Executive Master in European Public Affairs. Julia is interested in social affairs, particularly in women's rights, the role of media in politics and European integration.

Robin is Co-Founder of the Young Transatlantic Leadership Initiative. YTL is a transatlantic immersive leadership exchange format between Canada and Germany. It aims to build a sustainable network of young leaders. The program’s core element consists of immersive study trips to Germany and Canada on an annually rotating basis. Since 2015, he is working on improving transatlantic relations between Germany, Canada, and the United States in various roles.

Robin works for Bernstein Group, a Berlin-based consultancy that advises its clients on regulatory questions and political issues. His specializations are FMCG producents, providers of mobility solutions, and healthcare clients.

Simone Rudolf works at the Goethe-Institut Brussels in the field of European Funding Programmes since 2009. Her task is to advise colleagues and partners worldwide on drafting successful project proposals for EC applications. Further, she gives trainings in project writing and budgeting, taking into consideration the rules and regulations of the EC. Simone Rudolf has a background in economic science and holds a MBA in Marketing. Next to her mother tongue German, she is fluent in English, French and Spanish.

Charles is the Research Manager at ThinkYoung, where he manages social and political research projects on children’s rights and youth engagement. This includes a focus on employment, skills, and education, online civil liberties, international development and the SDGs, social inclusion, and political and civic engagement. He also has experience in multiple European based NGOs on EU policy and rights based issues including at the Open Rights Group and the Project for Democratic Union.

Charles holds a degree in Law and Politics from QMUL, and an MSc in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).