Welcome to Accelerating: Empathy- a twoday educational experience that allows your voice to be heard!

Presented by the Empathy Factory, Accelerating: Empathy brings together high school students that aspire to be leaders of social change. When: April 4th and 5th, 9am - 4:30pm Where: World Trade & Convention Centre Lunch & beverages provided!

As a participant, you are challenged to come up with a solution to a timely social issue in your community and pitch your idea to other participating students. You have 60 seconds to make your initial pitch so make every second count! How do you cram an idea into 60 seconds?
Why does this issue need to be addressed? (10 seconds)

Who are you and what is the issue you'd like to address? (10 seconds)

What is your soluNon? (20 seconds)

What does your idea need to make it a reality? (10 seconds)

Summarize - why should parNcipants vote for your idea? (10 seconds)

Once the pitches have been made, all participants vote on their favorite idea. The ideas that receive the most votes will be reworked and refined over a period of two days, with the help from community mentors and industry experts. You are able to choose the team with which youd like to work, and your team is responsible for selforganizing so that each team member has an important role in developing the idea. Examples of team roles: Role Team Leader Researcher Presentation Developer Documenter Communications Presenter Discussion Facilitator Duties Ensure all team members are on task; guide the idea development process Get online or use available resources to help the team attain the information they need Put together a presentation, either using electronic presentation tools (powerpoint, prezi) or physical presentation tools (presentation boards, props) Take notes during discussions; refer to notes when needed Source and contact experts or professionals when necessary Prepare for the final pitch; ensure all important information is referenced Ensure discussions keep on topic; ask pertinent questions

Selecting a mentor: Your team will be expected to recruit a mentor and remain with them throughout the entire two days. Each mentor will bring their unique competencies and backgrounds to the table, and your team will have to strategically match your idea with the most suited mentor. You will be given bios of each mentor before the event, so you can start to identify who might be the best fit for your idea. While youll have choices in mentors, so too will they have choices in teams. A mentor will want to know that the team they work with is aligned with their interests and abilities, so you may have to do a little work in convincing them why they should join your team. We ask that you do not contact mentors before the event, but as soon as the pitches are over, you can find them and start wooing!

Housekeeping: Be adaptable, open-minded, and unafraid to make mistakes! Everyone has something to offer! Find your unique skills and talents that you can contribute to the team. Dress like you care! Remember that you will be working alongside professionals. Bring along your electronic devices (as long as you are using them to benefit your team!) Do your research ahead of time - follow us on facebook and twitter to check out our great selection of mentors. Ensure that you have transportation to and from the event. Your teachers can help you organize drives. Ensure that you have permission from the school to attend the event.

And remember: In order for tomorrows leaders of social change to learn, they must do. Follow us on Twitter (and let us know who you are) - @EmpathyFactory #AE2013 Like us and join the event on Facebook - search Empathy Factory Or email: genevieve@empathyfactory.com