The conference’s theme is “Voices that Challenge.” Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins will preside at an Oct. 23 Mass.

Marc Kielburger said he and his brother will speak about “how to live one’s life through service,” drawing upon their first-hand experience working with Free the Children. The international development organization Craig founded as a 12-year-old in 1995 has built more than 500 schools in Kenya, China, India, Sierra Leone, Ecuador and Sri Lanka.

The brothers are graduates of Toronto’s public Catholic elementary and high schools. They co-founded Me to We, a non-profit organization which provides leadership experiences for young people. 

Marc Kielburger, 32, said what their Catholic education taught is the importance of leadership and how to be role models. He counts his parents, both of whom were teachers, as his first role models and says he learned from their example of empathy.

He also said Jean Vanier and Mother Teresa are among his “social justice heroes.”

He said he learned more about power, globalization and leadership from his experiences working with children than his time at Harvard University or Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Other conference speakers will be Sr. Joan Cronin of the Institute for Catholic Education, Dr. Josie Lombardi of St. Augustine’s Seminary and John Kostoff, director of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board.