http://communications.uwo.ca/western_ne ... g_id=14394
Univ. of Western Ontario
Student Chosen As Finalist
Aug 13th, 2004
by Jim Anderson
University of Western Ontario Ivey business student Alim Merali was selected one of 10 finalists in Magna International’s 2004 As Prime Minister Awards program.
Merali was chosen from among 51 semi-finalists from hundreds of entrants nationwide for offering the most innovative visions for the country.
He wins $10,000 and a paid, four-month internship at Magna International Inc., Canada’s largest supplier of automotive systems and components.
As a finalist in the As Prime Minister competition, he will compete for the top prize – National Winner of the 2004 As Prime Minister Awards. The top prize is an additional $10,000 and a one-year paid internship with Magna International Inc.
The National Winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in Ottawa in November. Essays of the finalists and the invitational writers will be published in a book called @Stake” As Prime Minister I Would…”
Merali, from Edmonton, will be entering the Richard Ivey School of Business Administration this fall to pursue an Honors Business Administration degree. He is involved in numerous debating clubs and associations.
In 2002, he was the Canadian Student Debating Federation National High School Champion, and in 2003, he received the University of Calgary Fall Open Debating Champion Award.
He is a member of the Alberta Debate and Speech Association board of directors and co-ordinator of the 2004 Alberta Provincial Debate Championships. He was the top delegate on the NATO North Atlantic Council at the British Columbia Model United Nations.
Merali coordinated the Edmonton School Team Challenge of the World Partnership Walk that supports global development initiatives of the Aga Khan Foundation. He is very active in politics and holds numerous elected positions within both provincial and federal political associations.
He also runs a small business that provides public relations and communications writing services to companies and is also a part-time debate instructor.
Merali presented his Prime Ministerial advice along with the 50 other semifinalists before an independent adjudication panel in Toronto last week.
The judges included notable Canadians Mike Duffy (CTV), Joan Crockatt (national political commentator), Mike Harris (author/journalist), Jean Charpentier (former Radio-Canada correspondent/former press secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau/federal official), and Major-General Richard Rohmer.
Two other Western student semi-finalists, engineering student Benjamin Fine and political science graduate John MacAulay were not selected for the finals. They each won $3,000 prizes as semi-finalists.
Each year, the Magna for Canada Scholarship Fund invites full-time undergraduate or graduate students from colleges, universities and CEGEPs across Canada to submit their written solutions to the As Prime Minister Awards on making Canada a better place.
This year’s essays responded to the question: “If you were the Prime Minister of Canada, what political vision would you offer to improve our living standards and ensure a secure and prosperous global community?”
The Magna for Canada Scholarship Fund was established in 1995 by Magna International Inc. to empower students to express their solutions for building an even better Canada.
For more information about the As Prime Minister Awards program, visit the Web site at:
http://www.asprimeminister.com