Farwa Naqvi, University of Calgary
Farwa Naqvi believes young people are not just the leaders of tomorrow- they are powerful voices shaping our communities today. With over a decade of experience working alongside youth through the City of Calgary, Farwa has dedicated her career to creating spaces where young people feel heard, valued, respected, and empowered. Her journey from grassroots youth engagement to academic research reflects her commitment to transforming how we understand and respond to youth mental health. As a researcher at the University of Calgary, her work focuses on youth mental health, meaningful youth engagement, and amplifying the experiences of marginalized and underserved young people. Her ability to make complex research accessible and impactful earned her second place in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, where she explored how migration and displacement shape the mental health experiences of migrant and refugee youth.
What drives Farwa is her focus to bridge research with real-world experiences, ensuring that young people's voices are not simply heard but have the power to shape the conversations, policies, and systems that affect their lives. Having spent years working directly with youth, she recognizes that young people are more than statistics or stories waiting to be told- they are storytellers, creators, advocates, and experts in their own experiences. Whether through community engagement, research, or advocacy, Farwa is driven by a powerful belief: when we create space for young people to tell their own stories, we don't just change the conversation… we create possibilities for change. For her, youth engagement is more than a research approach; it is a lifelong commitment to ensuring young people have the platform, respect and power to shape their own futures.