“Your ability to figure out what it is that drives you and then transfer that into something that you can have an impact on in the world around you becomes the most important thing.”

-Justin Trudeau, MP, Past Impact Gala Keynote

To kick off the exciting progress of the I Am My Ambition video campaign, IAMA will be connecting over 100 youth leaders, media personalities, industry professionals, and world class entrepreneurs, with a launch event hosted by the Centre for Social Innovation. The event, which aims to help people transform their passion into an impact on the world, will be taking place on August 16th, from 7:00PM to 9:30PM.

This invitation-only event features keynote speeches by Mark Evans, social media guru, and Jeff Adams, Paralympian and entrepreneur. Jeff Adams (who was filmed for the IAMA campaign) previously spoke at the 2009 Impact National Conference where he entertained audience members young and old with his inspirational story and great insight into the world of entrepreneurship. Attendees will enjoy the comfortable atmosphere of the Centre for Social Innovation while eating delicious hors d’oeuvres graciously provided by Vert Catering.

Interested in attending? Please contact sonya.jain (at) impact.org.

I Am My Ambition’s new video release features Canadian Member of Parliament Justin Trudeau!

Even before entering politics, Justin Trudeau was a strong advocate for youth engagement.  He has chaired the board of directors for the youth volunteer-service program Katimavik, and is currently Critic for Multiculturalism and Youth in the Liberal Party of Canada.

In our newest video, Justin Trudeau discusses the importance of defining your own path to success.  Watch it at the I Am My Ambition website or on Youtube and be sure to tell us what you think!

Earlier today, Impact launched its newest initiative, I Am My Ambition (IAMA).  IAMA is an online awareness video campaign, in which various leaders and entrepreneurs talk about their experiences and journeys to success.  Thus far, our IAMA team has interviewed 19 entrepreneurs and successful leaders, including Justin Trudeau (Member of Parliament), Andy Nulman (Past CEO of Just for Laughs and CEO of Airborne Mobile), and Jeff Adams (Paralympics Champion and CEO of Marvel Wheelchairs.)

IAMA’s website is launching a new video and interview every Wednesday, so be sure to visit the site often!  While you’re there, don’t forget to read the IAMA blog, which is filled with interesting tales of achieving success and overcoming challenges by leaders and entrepreneurs whose ambitions have guided them.

We are extremely pleased to announce the results of ONCONTACT withanEntrepreneur hosted by CG6 Inc, one of our notable partners during Global Entrepreneurship Week. Here’s a press release that they issued with the results of their triple events taking place in Toronto and Waterloo. Thank you to CG6 Inc. for working with us during Global Entrepreneurship Week!

For immediate release
Trudeau: “You are not tomorrow’s leader, but today’s leaders”
Cg6 Inc. took part in Global Entrepreneurship Week with a 95% turnout

November 27, 2009, Toronto – With the support of Impact Entrepreneurship Group, George Brown College and University of Waterloo, Cg6 Inc. (www.cg6.com) ran three sessions of open mike discussions at George Brown College and University of Waterloo, participated at the Impact National Conference 2009 and the 2009 Impact Gala during the Entrepreneurship Week Canada, held on Nov 16th to Nov 22nd inclusively. Having close to 90,000 impressions, ONCONTACT withanEntrepreneur resulted in a 95% turnout.

Entrepreneurship Week Canada is a nation-wide campaign embracing innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity. As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009, the week brought together like-minded individuals together to promote and celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship.

ONCONTACT withanEntrepreneur
With the support of University of Waterloo, ONCONTACT withanEntrepreneur was featured on their Alumni enewsletter. In addition, ONCONTACT withanEntrepreneur was also mentioned on the Impact Entrepreneurship Group’s November Newsletter; Global Entrepreneurship Week Newsletter and their blog; University of Waterloo Career Services’ Student page and the Career Services Events’ newsletter; Society of Internet Professionals newsletter and their blog. The event also got listed on a number of activities and event calendars including the UW Event, totaling close to 90,000 impressions on the internet.

“The 95% turnout would not have been possible without the support of our partners and all who randomly believed in the organization of this event. The feedback has been positive; our group has been personally congratulated at several levels. And I thank you all.” Tm Mahdi, director and founder of Cg6 Inc. pointed out.

Impact National Conference 2009
Being an Exhibition sponsor at the Impact National Conference, Cg6 Inc. was able to share its mission and passion to young minds and respective industries. The conference attracted 500 of the top high school and post-secondary students from across Canada. This is where youth leaders and like-minded individuals with a passion for entrepreneurship gather to inspire, learn, educate, and cultivate their peers with the entrepreneurial spirit.

Impact Gala
Cg6 Inc. was delightful to be a guest attending the 2009 Impact Gala “Dare to Dream”. The gala featured Justin Trudeau as keynote speaker. Justin is passionate about engaging and empowering youth to think and act entrepreneurial. His work with environmental groups and youth activism set an extraordinary example for today’s youth and demonstrates him as a leader propelling positive change in Canada.

In his speech, Justin refreshed youths with these words with a reminder to industry’s current entrepreneurs, “You are not tomorrow’s leader, but today’s leaders.” Cg6 Inc. is honoured to be involved in an event having him speak and share his encouraging words.
Updates and photos can be found online at www.cg6.com and Cg6’s Facebook page.

Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is a movement to inspire millions of people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity. GEW Canada connected hundreds of organizations to champion a culture of entrepreneurship and mentoring, through local, national and global initiatives. Students, educators, young adults, entrepreneurs, business leaders, mentors, employees, non-profit leaders, corporations, governments, and many others participate in a wide range of programs. The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is the Official Host for GEW Canada 2009.

Impact Entrepreneurship Group Impact Entrepreneurship Group is Canada’s largest non-profit, student-run organization dedicated to encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit amongst youth in Canada and becoming a starting point and catalyst for youth interested in entrepreneurship and leadership.

Cg6 Inc. Cg6 Inc. is a lifestyle media relations agency entirely focused to the Arts & Media. For the last 8 years, Cg6 Inc. has been recognized and supported by the media for social initiatives. Cg6 Inc. organizes Toronto’s largest portfolio review & internship night and the organizer of the annual Prospecting Freelancer open discussion resource lead by successful freelancers themselves. Cg6 Inc. works closely not only with educational institutions, but as well with recent graduates, independent artists, media agencies and various groups.

As an agency, Cg6 Inc. is the organizing founder of Design Guild of Toronto; a non-profit body made by entrepreneurial creatives and media professionals, representing over 1,100 specialized members. In addition, Cg6 Inc. is the publishers of the subscription based crossover magazine, dedicated to the entrepreneurial freelancer. It is the transition from arts to business and business to arts.

For more information please contact:

Tm Mahdi Director & Founder Cg6 Inc.
416.238.6881
tm.mahdi@cg6.com

Here’s your chance to design a logo for our I am My Ambition videos and win a prize of up to $150!

Impact is looking for a logo that works well in a black background and looks good being transparent in the corner of our videos featuring the likes of:

Justin Trudeau – MP
Andy Nulman – Just for Laughs CEO
Jeff Adams – 13 time medal winning, olympian, paralympian and world champion
Julian Brass – Founder, NotableTV
Sarah Prevette – Founder, Sprouter
Conor McCreery + Anthony Del Col – Creators of Kill Shakespeare
Rahul Singh – Humanitarian of the Year, founder DMGF, Executive Director of GlobalMedic

What’s the competition like? Click here to see submissions so far!

Check out our videos of Kunal Gupta and Jonathan Davids for the I am My Ambition campaign:

Click here for more details on the contest.

Submit all entries (in JPEG format) to sonya.jain@impact.org and oleg.kostour@impact.org by November 30, 2009 at 11:59 PM EST.

Good luck to all!