Former first lady Michelle Obama will be giving her first speaking engagement in Canada, aimed at pushing education and equality for girls and women.
The event is set for Nov. 28, in Toronto.
“She’s going to be speaking about a number of things, but the economics of equality is really why she’s here. So, talking about how we can change the world through the advancement of women and girls,” said Rhiannon Traill, CEO Economic Club of Canada.
The event, co-hosted by the Economic Club of Canada and Plan International Canada, was announced on CTV’s Your Morning Monday.
Traill says 3,000 tickets will be sold for the event, but each buyer will purchase two tickets, with one being donated to a young person between the ages of 14 and 24.
For example, she said if a bank buys a table for 10, five tickets will go to youth who will sit with the bank executives.
“We really hope to facilitate that discourse and have people coming together from across genders to talk about this issue.”
The youth seats will be available through a lottery system. Applicants can submit their entry at the Plan International Canada website.
Attendees will also have the chance to submit questions to be answered by Obama at the event.
“The other great thing too is we are choosing one youth ambassador for the event who will be able to meet Michelle Obama,” said Caroline Riseboro, CEO Plan International Canada.
She pointed out that the world now has the largest cohort of young people in history.
“The future belongs to our youth so what an amazing opportunity for youth to be engaged, to be able to interact with Michelle Obama, and I think an opportunity for them to be inspired about what the future can hold.”
Prior to joining Barack Obama in the White House in 2009, Obama was a lawyer, a university administrator and community outreach worker. The graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School has made gender equality a hallmark of her charitable work. She launched Let Girls Learn in conjunction with activist Malala Yousafzai in 2015.
Tickets for the Toronto event, being held at the Mattamy Centre, will go on sale to American Express cardholders on Wednesday at 10 a.m. and to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m.
