A Canadian teenager, reported to be a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize to be announced Friday, has apparently been advised to keep a low profile.
Craig Kielburger, a 19-year-old student at the University of Toronto, could not be contacted on Monday following reports in The Globe and Mail newspaper and on CBC Television that he is a nominee to receive the prestigious award.
The Nobel Peace prize is worth one million US dollars to the recipient. Kielburger, who made the front page of newspapers around the world even before he reached his teens, has reportedly been nominated for the award by Canada’s Revenue Minister Elinor Kaplan and US congresswoman Lois Kapps.
As a 12-year-old, Kielburger was so outraged at reports of child labour in developing countries — especially over the death of a child worker in a Pakistani carpet sweat shop — that he founded a group called Kids Can Free the Children.
The organisation now has more than 100 000 members around the globe. Kielburger has campaigned internationally for the inclusion of young people at international conferences on a wide range of issues including health care and education. – Sapa-AFP