Leonard and a colleague artist from Yukon performed together in January 2017 at the Sunrise Festival Concert in Inuvik, Northwest Territory. Leonard was invited to the festival as a guest musician and was able to sing and play the drums during the show, which was attended by lots of people at the Community Hall in Inuvik.
Leonard was able to perform music in Atlanta, Georgia, in June 2016, when he joined his longtime friend and mentor Professor Kelly Lewis and others for a special occasion. He visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Museum in Atlanta. He also had the chance to meet various people working in music, design, and mentorship.
In 2015 Leonard was able to attend the UN Youth Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, where he had an opportunity to present his work related to music and culture. He managed to organize a group of youth from Yukon, Canada, to attend the 2016 UN Youth Assembly, also held in New York. The group of three youth, including a First Nation participant, discussed promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals locally and internationally.
Yukon youth learn about sustainable development at the United Nations with Leonard Boniface.
Leonard and his son, Hisani, joined Leonard’s mother, Solina, and sister, Anne, from Tanzania in the United States in 2015. Leonard and Hisani sang at a special occasion in front of many people in honour of his dear friend and honorary family member, Father Jim Travis (Leonard created a special song about Father Jim, which he included on his second music album). Proceed from this song about Father Jim , will be donated for good causes. Leonard, Hisani, Solina, and Anne were able to visit various places such as Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Alexandria, where they spent a quiet time visiting good friends. Leonard drove his mother and sister to Wisconsin, where they enjoyed Lake Pepin and the Mississippi River. The one-month trip to the U.S. for Leonard’s mother and sister helped them to learn about and develop projects related to agriculture by visiting projects and looking for possible interested partners. They own a very large tract of land (undeveloped land due to a lack of funds) on the border with Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Their land is suitable for agriculture, investment or social development projects. If you are interested in their agriculture, health, and social project for Tanzania, you can contact Anne and Solina directly at projectbariadi@gmail.com.
Leonard Boniface has been blessed in his life to have experienced wonderful opportunities to meet inspiring people and to contribute to projects and events that have in some way changed our world. He hopes that the story of his experiences and those he has served—and being around him—can inspire more youth to embrace a global perspective as they become agents of social change. His book will contain the story of his life and the lives of other young leaders and the opportunities they were presented with, through the good will of others, to be active locally and internationally, including travelling and working in many countries for social change. It will highlight the stories behind experiences such as Leonard’s work as a member of the Oxfam International Youth Parliament, co-producing a short film for MTV and meeting and working with activists and celebrities such as Bono, Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake. These experiences, including his music, art, journalism and administration, inspired Leonard’s activism in many places, as have his travels, including in Australia, Morocco, Botswana, France, Germany and USA. Leonard believes that his experiences and those of the others in contributing to changing the world will show many youth and others what they are also capable of achieving and how many things are possible for them if they have an inspired vision and commitment. Leonard’s book is expected to be published sometime in 2018
Guest Artist
Sunrise Festival Concert in Inuvik, Northwest Territory, January 2017
Guest Speaker
Leaders in Training Conference, Whitehorse, Yukon, 2016
Presenter
Workshop on United Nations Youth Assembly, Whitehorse, Yukon, 2016
Presenter, “African World Music for Change”
Youth Assembly at the United Nations, New York, 2015
Delegate
Diaspora Conference, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 2015
Presenter, Speaker & Artist
Visited 4 schools: St-Just, Ste-Lucie, Chanoine-Ferland et Ste- Appolline Schools in Quebec, 2014
Speaker and Organizer
Yukon African Caribbean Galas, Whitehorse, 2010–2013
Delegate
International Conference on Accessibility, Ottawa, 2012
Delegate
Diaspora Conference, Edmonton, 2012
Guest Speaker
GROW, University of Calvary’s Event on the UN Millennium Development Goals, University of Calgary, 2010
Volunteer and Organization Participant
African Day Event (Afrikadey), Calgary, Alberta, 2009
Volunteer and Organization Participant
Human Rights Conference, Calgary 2008
Representative and Member, Oxfam International Youth Parliament 2004 – 2007
Participant and Oxfam IYP Action Partner
Oxfam IYP African Regional Workshop, Lusaka, Zambia, 2006
Co-producer and Actor
MTV 48 Fest, Toronto, 2006
Speaker and Facilitator
Community to Community Conference, Salt Spring, British Columbia, 2006
Speaker and Facilitator
International AIDS Conference, Toronto, 2006
Presenter and Participant
Youth Pre-AIDS Conference, Toronto, 2006
Participant
Peace and Sustainability, Verdun, France, 2005
Speaker and Facilitator
Student Days, One World, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2005
Participant & Artist
Students of Sustainability Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 2004
Participant & Journalist (Key writer; Target 2015: Publication on UN Millennium Development Goals)
World Youth Congress, Casablanca, Morocco, 2003
Researcher (Practicum)
The Impact of Mass Media in Combating HIV/AIDS in Youth in Botswana Compared to Tanzania
University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana, 2002
Participant
Mr. & Miss University Tanzania 2002 (Final)
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, 2002
LEONARD BONIFACE
