WE and Siemens Call Upon Young Canadian Problem Solvers with Launch of National Contest Celebrating Creative Social Innovation

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - April 04, 2017) -

- The WE innovate contest challenges students to address issues that will have a lasting impact on the future of Canada

­­- Young Canadian change makers between grades 4-12 can learn how to take part at we.ca/we-innovate

- Winners of the contest will have the chance to share their innovative idea with thousands of their peers on the WE Day stage

Today, Siemens Canada and WE, announce the launch of WE innovate, a national contest for young people across the country who are paving the way for Canada's future through out-of-the box solutions to social issues. Made possible by Siemens, in partnership with WE, and in celebration of Canada 150, WE innovate challenges youth from grades 4 to 12 to submit creative solutions tied to one of Canada 150's four themes: environment, youth, diversity and inclusion or reconciliation. The competition challenges young innovators to move beyond traditional solutions and ideate creative world-changing resolutions for real-life social issues, leaving their mark on the future of the country.

Individually, or as part of a group, young people across the country can join the WE innovate contest in three easy steps:

1. Spark inspiration by researching and choosing an issue that they are passionate about, tied to the Canada 150 themes;
2. Envision an innovative solution to their chosen social issue;
3. Bring the idea to life with a creative submission through written, visual, STEM or video form

Submissions for the competition will be accepted from June 5 to July 15, 2017. For contest rules and regulations and more information, visit we.ca/we-innovate.

"The young Canadians of today are the difference makers who are shaping the Canada of tomorrow and as a leading innovation and technology company, Siemens is committed to nurturing their passion and ideas for addressing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead," said Robert Hardt, CEO, Siemens Canada. "We're thrilled to partner with WE on this initiative as a celebration of Canada 150 and look forward to sharing the student's creative ideas with all Canadians."

Over the summer, submissions will be judged by a panel of notable Canadians with expertise in science, arts and entrepreneurship. A total of seven winners will be chosen in September, 2017, for the grand prize of a special VIP WE Day experience, including the chance to share their winning idea with thousands of their peers from the WE Day stage. WE Day is an inspiring stadium-sized life changing event that unites world-renowned speakers, presenters and award-winning performers with thousands of young people to celebrate and inspire another year of incredible change.

Together, Siemens and WE want to ignite youth's confidence in realizing their potential and recognizing that they have the power to build a brighter future Canada. Through WE innovate, both organizations are invested in bringing contest winners' creative action plans to life through WE Schools. WE Schools is a free service learning program that challenges young people to learn about social issues and empowers them with the tools to take action on causes that matter to them. Educators, family and friends are encouraged to support young people in their life by inspiring and working alongside them to help bring their plans from ideation to submission. Teachers and mentors who choose to assist students with their work can access resources to help guide individuals and groups toward their goals. These resources were created to help students deepen their understanding of the concept of innovation, and gain more insight into how creativity and organizational skills work together to help grow innovative ideas into impactful outcomes. WE innovate resources can be accessed here we.ca/we-innovate.

"We are honoured to work alongside Siemens on this brand new national contest, recognizing the talented young Canadians who are working to solve some of the most pressing social issues our nation is facing today," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. "By taking on this challenge and exercising their creative thinking muscles, these young change makers will lead us is into Canada's bright future with their innovative problem-solving and recognize in themselves the ability to make a difference."

To learn more about WE innovate, visit we.ca/we-innovate.

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About WE
WE is an organization that brings people together and gives them the tools to change the world. A unique family of organizations, WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering change with resources that create sustainable impact, and ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences that allow people to do good through their everyday choices. The celebration of that change happens at WE Day -- inspiring stadium-sized life-changing events that take place around the world. A movement of 3.4 million young people supporting 2,500+ local and global causes, we've provided more than 1 million people with clean water and built 1,000 schools and schoolrooms overseas, giving more than 200,000 children access to education. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by humanitarians, activists and social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the WE movement today at www.we.org.

About Siemens
Siemens Canada is a leading technology partner that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality and reliability for more than 100 years. Siemens' expertise in the fields of electrification, automation and digitalization helps make real what matters to Canada, delivering solutions for sustainable energy, intelligent infrastructure, healthcare and the future of manufacturing. One of the world's largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a foremost supplier of power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. The company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment and laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. The company has approximately 5,000 employees, 44 offices and 15 production facilities from coast-to-coast. Sales for Siemens Canada in fiscal 2016 (ended September 30), were $3.1 billion CAD. Further information is available at http://www.siemens.ca.