“Dear AICSES Members,
My name is Veda Chandra, and I am a 19 year old Indian-Canadian first-year student at the University of Ottawa, pursuing a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Conflict Studies and Human Rights. I was born in North India, raised in the Greater Toronto Area by a single mother, and while I am not the first in my family to attend university, I intend to be the first to pursue a law degree with a special interest in International Law and Human Rights NGO work.
My journey as an advocate for human rights began long before I understood the words. At eight years old, I stayed in during recess to weave milk bags into surgical mats for communities in need. By grade five, I was leading fundraisers and assembling care packages for new immigrant families in my community. I helped found a Me to We chapter at my elementary school. In grade 9, I became the Director of Education for “”Change by Coffee””, a youth-based student group supporting immigrants and refugees facing homelessness. My job was to educate other students and dismantle ingrained societal stigma and stereotypes on various groups through awareness lessons each week. I was also part of the 2021–2022 cohort of the Young Canadians’ Parliament. In this capacity, I helped author a report directly concerning relevant youth-issues such as climate change, housing, and racism, and then presented this paper to Canadian government officials. These early experiences were not extracurriculars to me, they were promises to a cause that felt bigger than myself.
That promise has since deepened and matured. At uOttawa, I am a general member of Amnesty uOttawa and plan to pursue a leadership role next year. I also co-manage the social media with a wonderful team for the Amnesty International Ottawa-Gatineau chapter, where I’ve been a dedicated member as long as I’ve been in Ottawa. Through this chapter, I recently joined Amnesty Canada’s Indigenous Rights Task Force, an experience that continues to educate me and shape my understanding of allyship and justice in the Canadian context. I do my best to take part in every working group meeting to offer my insight on campaign advertisement and social media.
While I may not yet have decades of experience, I believe I bring something just as valuable: a fierce, genuine, unwavering commitment to human dignity, an unshakable belief in the power and my love of law and community, and the lived leadership experience I have as a young immigrant woman of colour navigating and challenging systems not built with us in mind.
My mother took me to my first protest when I was 10 years old, a Toronto protest against the Sri Lankan Civil war, and I left with a fire in my heart. That fire has since never gone out. From local organizing to national advocacy, I’ve seen the power of collective voices raised together. I’ve also seen how Amnesty fosters collective grassroots action and change. I want to contribute to that on the global scale.
If honoured with the opportunity to serve as the 2025–2026 Youth Global Delegate, I will bring a youth-centered lens, the passion to learn, and the promise to step back and uplift the voices of marginalized communities with their wishes actively in mind. I am ready to listen, to collaborate, and to lead. Thank you for considering my application.”
