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Miguel A Rozo is a Canadian-based policy advisor, social entrepreneur and thought leader passionate about climate action, international affairs and innovation. He has called Canada home for many years after being forcibly displaced from Colombia with his family at age 11.

Most recently (2022), Miguel has spoken on post-pandemic recovery, systemic change and restoring trust, and presented the findings of the world’s first youth-driven recovery report to world leaders at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Throughout 2021 he helped to spearhead the launch of this report as co-chair of the Davos Lab taskforce with the Global Shapers Community (GSC) and the WEF. 

Miguel is a TEDx speaker (Vancouver, 2015), former Canadian delegate to the G7 Youth Summit  (Rome, 2017), an UNLEASH global talent (Singapore, 2018), a Climate Reality leader (Atlanta, 2019), and founder of IdeasXChange, a Vancouver  youth-led social innovation organization that he led for three years, before pivoting to work in international affairs.

His policy background spans across the United Nations (Colombia), the B.C. Ministry of Health (Canada), consulting research (Silicon Valley), and now as a policy advisor in international affairs based in Canada. 

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 and active member of the GSC, a leadership initiative of the WEF. Here are some of his latest accomplishments/pieces:

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
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)

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_logoTEDx 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

logo_ubcKeynote Speaker. UBC Impact LabUniversity 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

rotary_logoGuest 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
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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.

rcmpConference 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.

logo_ubcashoka_logoWorkshop 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