Visitors walked through a custom-built truck with 1,000 square feet of interactive exhibit space and explored how Canadians are driving positive change around the world.

This was an opportunity to celebrate Together before the bilingual exhibition travelled to communities across Canada.

The program celebrated the role that Canada plays in global development and the importance of global citizenship, two core themes of the Together exhibition.

Four notable individuals shared their journeys toward global citizenship!

Heather McPherson Executive Director at

the Alberta Council

Global Cooperation Sarah Gauthier

AKFC Fellowship Alumna Shobhita Soor Chief Marketing Officer at

Aspire Food Group Chris McKhool and Anwar Khurshid

Sultans of String

Launch Program:

5:00 to 5:30: Participants arrived to meet others interested in global development at a networking reception with live entertainment from 2015 Juno Award nominees, Sultans of String. In addition, they met with representatives from Canadian civil society organizations at the NGO marketplace

5:30 to 6:30: Participants were inspired by five inspiring individuals who demonstrate global citizenship through their skills and passions

6:30 to 8:00: Participants were among the first to walk through a custom-built truck with 1,000 square feet of interactive exhibit space and explored how Canadians are driving positive change around the world. They celebrated Together at a reception with refreshments, live music and an NGO Marketplace

Event details:

This event has taken place.

Speaker Biographies

Heather McPherson

Heather has worked as the Executive Director of ACGC since 2008. Prior to her work at ACGC, Heather spent over a decade working with Canadian and international educational and community development organizations in a variety of positions. Most recently she worked with Canada World Youth, supporting international youth exchanges with partners in many communities in Western Canada, Bolivia, China, Guatemala and Ukraine. Heather has also been involved with Doctors Without Borders and VSO, and is an appointed member of the Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Citizens’ Advisory Committee for the Alberta Provincial Government, within the Culture and Community Services Ministry. Heather has a Masters Degree from the University of Alberta in Educational Policy and a Bachelor of Education.

Sarah Gauthier

Sarah Gauthier, an Ottawa native, has extensive local and international professional experience in community empowerment and non-formal learning projects with diverse populations. As well as having worked with the immigrant population in Ottawa, Sarah has participated in international development projects in Latin America and Africa. In 2009-2010, she joined AKFC’s International Youth Fellowship Program in Mozambique as the Entrepreneurship Education Coordinator. She holds a BA in International Development and Globalization from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Education in Adult Learning and Global Change from UBC, and is fluent in French, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Shobhita Soor

Shobhita Soor is co-founder of the Aspire Food Group. Aspire is an international social enterprise that farms insects as a way to address food insecurity. Aspire was the winning McGill team of the Hult Prize 2013. Shobhita is currently finishing her BCL/LLB/MBA degrees from McGill while managing Aspire’s Ghanaian operations remotely.

Chris McKhool

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient Chris McKhool is known for his ability to bring together stellar musicians from the world music scene. He has written and performed violin with Sultans of String, and has freelanced with Jesse Cook, Pavlo and others. With Sultans of String he won the 2014 SIRIUSXM Music Award and has received two JUNO Award nominations, three Canadian Folk Music Awards and the Green Toronto Award of Excellence for commitment to environmental and social activism through his music. McKhool’s current collaborations include Symphony Orchestras in Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton.

Anwar Khurshid

Internationally recognized sitar master Anwar Khurshid has been featured in Oscar-winning films such as Life of Pi and Kama Sutra, and has performed in Europe, North America and across Asia. Anwar pioneers innovative collaborations with musicians from other genres, creating music transcending categorization – combining blues, jazz, African, Middle Eastern, Japanese and Chinese music. Anwar’s love of music is infectious. Originally from Pakistan, he has found a wonderful home in Toronto, and is currently the director of Sitar School of Toronto.

Undertaken with the financial support of: