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The accidental activists: Craig and Marc Kielburger

By Chistine Langlois

This is the story of how Craig and Marc Kielburger came to be the activists they are today.
Living a dream
Today, Craig and Marc can't imagine moving on from their work with FTC. They don't see it as work at all, but rather a lifestyle that they're firmly entrenched in. Volunteering is something Craig fits into his (almost) typical student existence. He greets me in the lobby of Trinity College, his residence at University of Toronto for the past three years, and graciously takes me on a tour of the 80-year-old stone building before we settle in a common room to talk. From the quadrangle he points out his room, with its leaded glass windows, up high in the tower nearest the chapel. "The place is a bit Harry Potter," he jokes. It's also more tradition-bound than Craig would have chosen for himself; he ended up at the University of Trinity College because it's the only place in Canada where his program of choice, peace building and conflict resolution, is offered. He avoids taking part in one of the formal rituals though – men are expected to wear suits, ties and black gowns to dinner – by signing up for an earlier mealtime.

Later on in the tour we meet a group of female students rearranging furniture and decorating for a prom the next night. Craig offers to help out, but he's happy to skip the prom part – an experience he had twice in high school. His interests in campus activities lean more toward the intellectual, such as a recent lecture he heard by a political scientist on environment and global security. The reality is that with a tight schedule of speaking engagements and meetings fit in around a full course load, Craig doesn't have much time for many other interests. He does relax by hanging out with friends and taking in the odd movie.

Marc and Roxanne

Marc, who doesn't travel as much as Craig, has a slightly less frenetic life. He and Roxanne live in an apartment in the Beaches area of Toronto and their downtime is spent doing typical couple things – watching movies, working out, spending time with friends and cooking. "Roxanne makes a mean vegetarian lasagna," says Marc. His prescription for dealing with the inevitable stress of the job is not taking himself too seriously and learning from disappointments.

The two brothers obviously relish the chance to work together, although surprisingly it's not something they ever expected to do – "never in a million years," says Marc. They weren't particularly close as kids. With a six-year age gap between them, Craig didn't see much of Marc, and Marc says it simply wasn't cool to hang out with his younger brother. And by the time Craig was a 12-year-old going on national television to decry the plight of child labourers, Marc was away at university or travelling on the other side of the world with Roxanne.

Page 4 of 5 - Read page five to see what the Kielburgers are up to now.



  • Keywords : celebrities , society-Volunteering , society , career

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