Miguel A. Rozo

Check out Miguel's Blog by following this link

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.

From 2015-18, Miguel founded and led IdeasXChange, a youth-led non-profit that provided systems change learning opportunities and sustainability literacy in Vancouver, Canada. During his tenure, IDX 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 and the United Nations in Colombia. Since 2019, he’s been proud to serve as a Policy Advisor at the Canadian Department of Global Affairs (Affaires Mondiales Canada).

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 one of 50 global scholars to be awarded the Rotary Peace Fellowship to pursue fully funded graduate studies at UNC-Duke University in the Environment, Ecology and Energy Program. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Miguel made the difficult decision to withdraw from the award but continues to be on the lookout for collaboration opportunities on issues related to climate action, decarbonization, nature-based solutions, green tech, along with socio-economic and energy transformation.

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.

SEE MIGUEL'S CV

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SEE MIGUEL'S CV

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)

- Spoke to an audience of 400 people on forced migration

- Shared personal story as former refugee and crafted a socio-economic argument for nations to accept displaced civilians

See Miguel’s TEDx talk here

Keynote Speaker. UBC Impact Lab. University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada (2015)

- Shared with university students the importance of appreciating multiple perspectives to address the world’s pressing issues

- Spoke on personal journey as a social entrepreneur to motivate students to pursue their passion

More information here

Guest Speaker. Rotary Clubs in Vancouver, North Vancouver, Ladner, Richmond – British Columbia (2015 – Present)

- 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.