:: Canada World Youth - Jacques Hébert: Biographical notes

In his 1996 book, Hello, World!, retired Senator Jacques Hébert described the origin of Canada World Youth - a dream that developed from his experiences of travelling to international destinations, his love of different cultures, and his desire to promote a more peaceful world.

"Imagine a group of young people your age," he said, engaging his children around the dinner table one evening in the early 1970s. "They are living in a small village in Ivory Coast for three or four months with young people from that country, with whom they have spent the previous four months in Canada. While there, they work with people on community development, they discover another culture, they grow to understand the needs of men and women in the community and, together, they discover what each can do to change things."

With those words, the seed of Canada World Youth was planted. During the following years, the organization would flourish and expand, but always under the watchful eyes of the man whose dedication made it possible.

Mr. Hébert, a native of Montreal, had an extensive career in writing and publishing. He was a contributing writer for Le Devoir (1951-53), and went on to found the weekly newspaper VRAI in 1954, acting as editor until 1959. He was a host and writer for Radio-Canada (1962-70), and an administrator for Cité libre magazine since 1958.

Mr. Hébert's numerous accomplishments in publishing include founding two publishing houses, Éditions de l'Homme (1958) and Éditions du Jour (1961), and being the president of the Association of Canadian Publishers (1965-74). He also penned many books including: Two Innocents in Red China (in collaboration with Pierre Elliott Trudeau) (Oxford University Press, Toronto, 1968), The World is Round (McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1976), Have Them Build a Tower Together (McClelland & Stewart, Toronto, 1979), 21 Days - One Man's Fight for Canada's Youth (Optimum Publishing, Montreal, 1986), Travelling in Tropical Countries (Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton, 1986), Duplessis, non merci! (Les Éditions du Boréal, Montreal, 2000), Katima...What? (Cosmopolite Communication, Montreal, 2001), En 13 points Garamond (Éditions Trois-Pistoles, Trois-Pistoles, 2002), and his most recent, Good Morning Cuba! (SIAP Publishing, Montreal, 2003).

His commitment to youth, both in Canada and throughout the world, inspired him to found Canada World Youth in 1971, and then Katimavik (a volunteer program that sends young Canadians to different regions of the country) in 1977.

In 1983, Mr. Hébert was nominated to the Senate of Canada. During his tenure he held many positions including Chairman of the Special Senate Committee on Youth (1984-86) and Chief Government Whip.

Mr. Hébert's other honours include: Officer of the Order of Canada, Knight of the Order of La Pleiade, Knight Commander of Merit, Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (Knight of Malta) and recipient of the Lewis Perinbam Award in International Development. He was also nominated for the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.

While Mr. Hébert's travel destinations are too numerous to list, he visited more than 130 countries around the world, and each trip provided him with invaluable learning, as well as colourful material for several books.

Mr. Hébert had five children, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.