Annual Top 30 Celebration Event
Each year, the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC) celebrates its Top 30 Under 30 through a celebration in Alberta. The celebration takes place during the first week of February as part of Canada’s annual International Development Week, which provides an opportunity to pause and acknowledge Canadian contributions to poverty reduction and sustainable development around the world.
2025 celebration
2025 Top 30 Under 30: Celebration Event
On February 8, 2025, ACGC honoured the newest cohort of the Top 30 Under 30 at the 2025 Celebration Event in a theater full of loved ones, supporters and community members. Themed “Past, Present, and Future: Celebrating the Journey from Yesterday to Tomorrow,” the afternoon was aptly filled with celebration, joy, and stories of inspiration.
Beautifully hosted by 2024 Top 30 alumni, Ziyana Kotadia and Ferrada Lightning, the award ceremony was jam-packed! Spoken word poet, aloT of Poetry, opened the ceremony with a stunning land acknowledgement, followed by welcome remarks by ACGC’s Executive Director, Sandra Muchekeza. Ferrada read a letter of congratulations from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and then City of Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek addressed the Top 30s in a heartfelt speech, reminding them to cherish the moment.
This year, seven Top 30s presented their stories: Preet Kang, Benjamin Kucher, Heny Panghulan, Omnia Elhakim, Harveen Saini, Srinidhi Kotikalapudi, and Deema ElRufaei! ACGC also debuted the 2025 Top 30 video at the ceremony.
ACGC welcomed Dr. Nadia Maarouf to deliver the keynote speech at the ceremony. Dr. Maarouf shared her journey from a young girl growing up in Morocco to clinical scientist and analog astronaut and one of Calgary’s 2024 Top 40 Under 40, while providing many words of encouragement to the Top 30s.
After a delightful ceremony, where the Top 30s were called up to the stage to receive their awards, aloT of Poetry concluded the event with another moving poem, “A System of Stars.”
Visit our YouTube page for highlights from the live 2025 Top 30 Under 30 Celebration Event.
2024 celebration
2024 Top 30 Under 30: Celebration Event
ACGC’s 2024 Top 30 Under 30 Celebration Event took place on Saturday, February 10 from 6:30-8:30 PM (MST) at the Telus International Centre in Edmonton, AB.
ACGC was delighted to partner with University of Alberta International for the Top 30 Celebration Event, as part of the I-Week roster of events (see below). Hosted by two brilliant 2023 Top 30 Under 30 alumni, Dr. Nevicia Case and Joshua Morin, the evening featured speeches from community leaders and the 2024 Top 30 Under 30 award recipients. Aligned with the year’s theme of climate justice, there was a virtual Keynote Speech by Kehkashan Basu, the founder of the The Green Hope Foundation, a youth-led global social innovation enterprise dedicated to climate justice and creating an equitable and safe world. The formal program was followed by refreshments and informal networking.
2023 celebration
2023 Top 30 Under 30: Celebration Event
ACGC’s 2023 Top 30 Under 30 Celebration Event took place on Thursday, February 9th from 6:30-8 PM (MST) at the Central Library in Calgary, AB.
Hosting the event was dynamic sibling duo, and Top 30 Under 30 alumni, Ibrahim Sadiq and Ganiyat Sadiq. The evening featured speeches from leaders and this year’s Top 30 Under 30 award recipients, followed by a keynote address by Poornima Sukumar, the founder of the Aravani Art Project, a trans-women and cis-women led art collective based in India that created this year’s campaign art. The formal program was followed by networking with light refreshments served.
2022 celebration
ACGC was pleased to extend an invitation to our Top 30 Under 30s (past and present), friends, family, and the wider community to come together on the evening of February 9, 2022 in a virtual celebration of the 2022 cohort of Top 30s and their achievements!
Thank you to all those who joined us virtually on February 9, 2022 for an evening of celebration, music, awardee performances, congratulatory addresses, and more!
This virtual event was live-streamed from the Grindstone Theatre and hosted by 2021 Top 30 Hannan Mohamud. Attendees enjoyed awardee speeches, congratulatory addresses, and a special live musical performance by Afro-fusion band MelAfrique!
Congratulatory addresses included messages from:
- Minister of International Development Harjit S. Sajjan
- Reading of statements from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Jason Kenney
- Address from Elder
- ACGC Executive Director Leah Ettarh
2022 Top 30 Speeches included messages from:
