Marriage, Marijuana, and Mental Health: Explore Challenging Topics at I.LEAD Conference in Ottawa This Saturday

For the past seven years, the team of I.LEAD has been focused on the vision of empowering the youth in the city and bringing together the Muslim community. After a process of planning and brainstorming, the chosen I.LEAD’s theme for this year is “The Art of Perseverance”. Perseverance, which is a skill and an art to be trained and disciplined, and is necessary to young Muslims to be able to tackle challenges facing them in this era.

The young Muslim men and women of 2019 face immense challenges... from a charged political climate, the hijab ban in Quebec, Islamophobia, the legalization of marijuana, substance abuse, failed marriages, to crime, and social media misinformation... and to top it off, a huge generation gap between them and elders. How do we tackle these issues and how should we react to them?

In order to support the discussion of this theme and answer the questions that revolve around it, I.LEAD is bringing many notable local and international speakers that will discuss the topics related to this theme with a rich program tailored for all members of the family.

The speakers confirmed for now are: Amal Kassir, Ibn Ali Miller, Imad Bayoun, Ibrahim Hindy, Megan Wyatt, Saad Tasleem, and Taimiyyah Zubair.

Our dear local Imams are also invited to the discussion to enrich the event with their knowledge and their attachment to the local community.

From religion sciences teachers and instructors to poets, inspirational heroes and pioneers that the community’s youth look up to and relate to, they will all be available to discuss and present a narrative and potential solutions to tackle current challenges faced by the Muslim youth.

Together with Ilyas Mao for a beautiful Nasheed performance and Shelina Merani for a joyful standup comedy session.

Similar to the past years, there will also be a lively bazaar with diverse local and national vendors for the audience and visitors to spend time during breaks.

For the children, there will be an organized children’s program for them to enjoy. The conference again this year will take place at the EY convention center, a center that is very spacious and located at a convenient location with lots of available parking and its staff has showed a great amount of professionalism and care for the event the past years.

For the first time ever, we are very excited to announce a new feature in I.LEAD! Catch your favourite speaker on a 360 stage! 

This conference will be advertised extensively in the Ottawa-Gatineau area with a major media and email campaign. Also, every masjid and Muslim organization will be encouraging their gatherings to attend this event. As a result, there is an expected number of 2-4 thousand visitors to attend this conference insha’a Allah. Hence, the organizers promote that this is good opportunity for businesses and organizations in the city to present their goods and their services to the local community by holding a booth or a table in the bazaar during the event. For more information on the bazaar packages, click here.

As an embodiment of I.LEAD’s vision that is empowering the youth the event organizers also organized a new exciting event prior to the actual iLEAD called iLEADx. It was a conference for the youth by the youth, in the form of a competition for the best speaker and best talent, with valuable prizes. The winning spoken word performances and iLEADx Talks will be presented during the I.LEAD Conference.

I.LEAD is a chance to bring the community together and embody the unity and the solidarity of the community. The conference is being organized by the majority of the Muslim organizations in Ottawa-Gatineau area to serve as a platform for the youth to be heard by various mosques and Muslim organizations and work together on one common project based on community needs. Due to the importance of this objective and the necessity of being able to attract as many community members as possible, the early bird tickets prices were set at a record low. The tickets are now available at $15 for students, $25 for adults and $15 for kids. Online ticket sales close on Friday midnight and prices increase on the day of the conference. To purchase tickets online. click here.

To view the full event program online, click here.

Some important tools to keep in hand in order to stay tuned with the I.LEAD updates are the event’s website and social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

• Ustadha Taimiyyah Zubair Ustadha Taimiyyah Zubair
• I.LEAD 2019 Theme: The Art of Perseverance I.LEAD 2019 Theme: The Art of Perseverance
• Shelina Merani Shelina Merani
• Shaykh Saad Tasleem Shaykh Saad Tasleem
• Megan Wyatt Megan Wyatt
• Dr. Imad Bayoun Dr. Imad Bayoun
• Ilyas Mao Ilyas Mao
• Imam Ibrahim Hindy Imam Ibrahim Hindy
• Ibn Ali Miller Ibn Ali Miller
• Bazaar Booths Available Bazaar Booths Available
• Amal Kassir Amal Kassir
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• 360 Stage 360 Stage
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• QuikEats Gourmet Food QuikEats Gourmet Food
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• What's On The Menu for I.LEAD? What's On The Menu for I.LEAD?
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• I.LEAD Daycare Program I.LEAD Daycare Program
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