Youth Summit Keynote Speakers

Sama and Jana

Keynote Speakers 

May 16 at 7:35PM

Since the beginning of their concurrent high school journey, Sama and Jana have been working side by side with strength and resilience — they started the Ramadan Campaign and Initiatives, Arabian Roots Club, and eventually founded ChangeMakers Fredericton together, making their visions a reality. This advocacy venture of theirs revolves around unity and growth—they’ve learned so much together, navigated challenges, and continue to support and uplift each other through it all.

My name is Sama, and I’m a student at Fredericton High School. From an early age, I grew up away from my homeland, Egypt. During my years of maturation, I struggled with my cultural identity and a deep, aching longing for connectivity grew each day. I felt pieces of my puzzle were missing, yet with many things to discover, one was persistent. In the light of becoming globally conscious at the age of 15, I was saddened, horrified, and discouraged to witness such crimes committed against humanity. The dire situation in Palestine and many other places globally, has opened my eyes full. From that point, I was determined to dedicate my time to advocating, demonstrating, and shining a light on the various humanitarian catastrophes worldwide. My devotion and passion for human rights grew incredibly and have empowered me to highlight the importance of cultural diversity and equity within the school setting and to advocate and fundraise for noble causes. Through perseverance and God’s will, I co-founded the first cultural social action club at Fredericton High School and a non-profit youth-led organization dedicated to local and global giving. Watching this world unfold before my eyes, I remain with a full heart of optimism and hope to continue flourishing in this journey alongside Jana, whose love for humanity is as great as mine.

The Jana Salem I am today stems from the wounds that left scars in me: injustices, discrimination, loss. My family fled Egypt, a dictatorship full of infringement on basic rights, to only come here to the Western World—Norway and then Canada—and face parallel challenges; ones that led me to discover what racism, ignorance, and Islamophobia are through experiences. It is those scars that shaped my resilience against this ruthless world and built my strength to become a changemaker and an advocate. As early as middle school, I built an EAL mentorship program for non-English-speaking newcomers who needed extra support and most importantly, someone to call a friend. Later in high school, my vision on change further developed and I am grateful to have co-founded the Arabian Roots Club at Fredericton High School, a haven for diversity, social action, and free cultural expression, alongside my best friend Sama Ouf. Co-founding ChangeMakers Fredericton only in September 2024, again, with Sama, was something I would have never imagined carrying out a few months back. With a vision of youth empowerment, we wanted to establish an organization that not only challenges the status quo but also provides an opportunity for youth leaders to make change both locally and globally. Social justice is not easily acquired, indeed, it is often faced with barriers—however, with our renewable desire for a better future, we continue to support each other and work together, hand-in-hand, to achieve what we could never have achieved alone.

Purity Moore

Keynote Speaker

May 17 at 4:40PM

Kwey. My name is Purity Moore, I am from Bilijk (Kingsclear First Nation) and currently a first-year student at St. Thomas University. My plans for education were not always as crystal clear as I had hoped they’d be. This was due to my own shortcomings and the lack of encouragement I received from educators around me. I did not identify as an Indigenous woman until my early teen years and felt the effects of what that meant as I got older. Growing up with strong ties to culture enabled me to look at myself as a leader. Now while teaching drum songs and culture to youth, I feel as though it is my place to build these children up and to be the educator I wish I had.