Miguel A Rozo is a Canadian-based policy advisor and social entrepreneur passionate about lots of things including climate action, global affairs and innovation. He has called Canada home for many years after being forcibly displaced from Colombia with his family at age 11.
As a social entrepreneur, Miguel founded and led IdeasXChange for three years – a non-profit organization committed to advancing systems change learning in Vancouver, Canada. It has mobilized over 1,500 youth and engaged dozens of British Columbia thought leaders through design labs, case competitions and community building. Miguel is passionate about engaging diverse communities and co-creating solutions.
When it comes to policy, his work spans across the U.S. Consulate-General Vancouver, the B.C. Ministry of Health, consulting in Silicon Valley, the United Nations, and he’s currently a Policy Advisor at the Canadian Department of Global Affairs.
Miguel is a TEDx speaker, part of the four-person Canadian delegation to the G7 youth summit (Y7) in Italy, an UNLEASH global talent (Singapore, 2018), a Climate Reality leader, and the project co-lead for a STEM literacy project with the Rotary foundation that provided coding classes for vulnerable children in Colombia.
He holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia in International Relations and speaks fluent English/Spanish and intermediate German/French.
Miguel is a proud member of the Global Shapers Community, an under 33 initiative of the World Economic Forum and is the past president of the Rotaract Club of Vancouver.
In 2020, he was awarded the Rotary Peace Fellowship, a prestigious award by the Rotary Foundation to pursue fully funded graduate studies, with a two to three month field study at UNC-Duke University in the Environment, Ecology and Energy Program.
Update: Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and unfolding situation in the US, he made the difficult decision to withdraw from the scholarship. However, Miguel hopes to pursue his Masters Degree at a later time to advance public-private partnerships and innovative policy tools to incentivize decarbonization and environmental protection – through the transformation of energy systems and integration of nature-based solutions – while leveraging the digital and innovation economy to reduce skills gaps via green jobs. You can see his profile at the UNC-Duke Rotary Peace Centre HERE. Miguel is also keen to collaborate with government/non-government, multilateral and private sector stakeholders to co-create scalable solutions that can lead to more inclusive, fair and sustainable systems.
Public Speaking + Reflection Pieces
Miguel has delivered a number of speaker engagements on migration, youth, social innovation, and policy, including a TEDx talk on forced migration. To book Miguel for a speaker engagement, please fill out this form.
Check out Miguel’s blog + analysis pieces HERE – more to come! To contact Miguel, please follow this link.
Passionate about social and environmental causes, Miguel enjoys dedicating his time to community and volunteering. A proud member of the Global Shapers community, he’s also volunteered extensively through the Rotaract foundation and independently through social work, working closely with marginalized folks in Northern British Columbia, along with K-12 and ESL tutoring. Miguel also volunteered hundreds of hours by mobilizing youth to launch what would later become the non-profit IdeasXChange.
MEMBER – GLOBAL SHAPERS COMMUNITY (2016 – Present)
- Member of Global Shapers, an initiative backed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) comprised of emerging leaders local and global leaders Volunteer with members to promote discussions on local/global issues
- Check out his reflection piece on the G7 Youth Consultation on the Jobs of the Future hosted by the Montreal chapter of Global Shapers
PRESIDENT (2015-16) – ROTARACT CLUB OF VANCOUVER (2012-16)
- Former member of the youth arm of the club Rotary Club of Vancouver
- Chaired a service club of 80 members, board of directors meetings, supported charity projects/fundraisers, engaged community partners
PROJECT LEAD – STEM EDUCATION PROJECT IN COLOMBIA (2016-17)
- Fostered partnership with grassroots organization and Rotary Clubs in Colombia and Canada to deliver STEM (robotics/engineering) classes to 10 vulnerable children from April-August 2017 via Minecraft EDU.
- Secured grants through speaker engagements, community building
- Check out his reflection piece on the pilot project
Miguel has given various speaker engagements since on various themes, notably on human rights, immigration, youth, social innovation, and public policy.
TEDx Speaker. Terry Project, UBC. Vancouver, Canada (2015)
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- Spoke to an audience of 400 people on forced migration
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- Shared personal story as former refugee and crafted a socio-economic argument for nations to accept displaced civilians
Keynote Speaker. UBC Impact Lab. University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada (2015)
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- Shared with university students the importance of appreciating multiple perspectives to address the world’s pressing issues
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- Spoke on personal journey as a social entrepreneur to motivate students to pursue their passion
Guest Speaker. Rotary Clubs in Vancouver, North Vancouver, Ladner, Richmond – British Columbia (2015 – Present)
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- Delivered various talks over the years sharing story as a former refugee and moral argument to accept forcibly displaced migrants
Miguel has spoken at various other Rotary clubs in Canada sharing his journey as an internally displaced refugee, as a young member of the Rotary family, and to seek support for what would lead to the 2017 pilot project to support computer literacy classes in Colombia.
Conference Speaker. YES2 2kNow Conference. RCMP D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). Richmond, Canada (2016)
- Shared with grade 7 students personal journey as a former refugee and migrant through a motivational talk
- Spoke on how obstacles in life can become assets through analogies and personal experience
- More information here.
Workshop Assistant. UBC Changemaker Showcase. Ashoka Foudation, Canada. Vancouver, Canada (2015)
- Assisted the Director of the Ashoka Foundation, Canada in the “Changemaker 101” workshop for aspiring entrepreneurs and changemakers
- Shared personal story of founding IdeasXChange and raising awareness about environmental issues
- More information here.
Speaker, Panel Moderator. IdeasXChange Hub. IdeasXChange. Vancouver, Canada (2015-17)
- Provided opening and closing statements at over 12 interactive workshops and panel discussions
- Introduced influential community, policy, and academic leaders
- Moderated a wide range of panels on environmental, sustainabiliy, social, economic, and policy themes
- More information on themes here. For videos, follow this link
Miguel has moderated various panel discussions on a wide range of local and global public policy issues.
Knowledge & Expertise
Global affairs, development, sustainability, social innovation and human rights.
Leadership
Founder, mobilizer, youth engagement and policy advocate
Multilingual
Fluent in English and Spanish, intermediate German and French
Policy and Global Affairs
Years of experience in government and the non-profit space
Education
International Relations, Political Science, Economics
Public Speaking
TEDx speaker, motivational talks, advocacy
Blog and Analysis Pieces
Miguel writes pieces on global affairs, sustainability, current events, and human rights. Check out his blog.