During her first year at U of T, Remi Kanji participated in the Asian Institute’s first Taiwan Field School, travelling to the country to meet with leaders of government, industry and academia. Since then, she has transformed her sense of global citizenship into action: Kanji co-founded Just Rights Radio, a popular campus-radio show focusing on social-justice issues – from the refugee experience in Canada, to environmental ethics, to the fight for an open and uncensored Internet. She also established the INDePth conference, where students from Asia and North America discuss Asian development issues. “Student leadership is about using your opportunities to empower others to lead and grow,” says Kanji, who attended University College.
For her work, Kanji received a Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award in April. The awards recognized 187 graduating students for outstanding extracurricular contributions to U of T and the wider community.
Kanji, who graduated with a BA in Asia Pacific studies and international relations, also managed the Global Ideas Institute, a program that helps high school students develop health innovations in the Global South. She co-produced a documentary on Taiwanese democracy during Taiwan’s 2012 election, served on the Hart House Social Justice Committee and is now working on the social startup Zhenxin – a health-care app for family caregivers – in Taipei.
To read about all the 2013 Cressy Award winners, visit alumni.utoronto.ca/cressy2013.
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