A passion for human rights and social justice has been realized for a University of Guelph student after she won a policy competition called the Thinkathon Online Challenge.
Part of a two-year youth initiative called Our Digital Future – C’est ici, Thinkathon aims to connect Canadian and European policy makers with young people interested in policy-making to help create an inclusive digital future.
Participants were asked to form groups and come up with policy recommendations on how to improve society regarding health, the environment, social justice and more. This year, 670 students from Canada and Europe participated in the virtual competition from October 2020 to January 2021.
Nabeeha Pirzada, a fifth year business student at the U of G, was one of those participants. Her group was one of three teams whose projects were chosen as winners.
"We were working day and night to perfect our presentation," said Pirzada about her experience, "Just to be able to come together and unite and to shape better policies and to shape a better future was just surreal.
“This was the coolest thing that we could think of, and just to be able to pitch that to the audience, and we also went live on several platforms, on Facebook, and I think that’s what made it really exciting for me.”
The policy Pirzada and her team came up with is called BIPOC Capital. It focuses on developing financial, digital and mentorship opportunities for medium and small BIPOC businesses.
“We wanted to push the Canadian government to create interest-free loans for Black, Indigenous and People of colour who own small and medium-sized enterprises,” Pirzada explains further about the concept, “While launching a program that allows a digital entrepreneurship platform that will allocate the funds on an applicant basis, while still having an option for corporations to sponsor businesses.”
Through an app, corporations can choose which local BIPOC businesses to sponsor, and in exchange, these corporations would receive free practical or sustainable skill-based workshops.
Pirzada adds that there is racial wealth disparity between BIPOC people and people who are more privileged. Currently, BIPOC businesses make up only 13 per cent of small and medium enterprises as they face less economic opportunities in Canada.
“We know that corporations are super, super eager to help create change and invest in innovation, so I think it was the perfect kind of thing to come up with, because it’s targeting both sides,” she said.
“I think it’s creating an economic win for both sides, and I think both parties are left pretty satisfied.”
As one of the winners, Pirzada’s group will present their ideas in an online information session with Canadian and European policymakers in February. She mentions that they have already spoken with individuals who are interested in their policy idea.
“We’re very, very thankful that so many people have agreed to meet with us, reached out to us, because they heard us on Thinkathon,” said Pirzada.
With the support Pirzada and her teammates have received from Thinkathon, she said it has helped push them to take the next steps with their idea by setting up a website.
“This has definitely changed a lot of stuff for me, because BIPOC Capital will probably be my number one priority now,” said Pirzada, “Because we are spending a lot of time on creating the policy, and now putting we're our dreams into action .... because we want to see our idea grow.”
For any young people who are looking to make a difference in the world, Pirzada said genuine change comes from policy.
“I think it’s very, very important to understand how policies work and have an understanding of how they shape everybody’s future, and as well, what’s currently happening.”
To learn more about the Thinkathon Online Challenge, click here
