Yannick Tona has witnessed and endured more than most can imagine. In his talk, "A Survivor’s Journey to inspire," Tona will share the story of his family's struggle to survive the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, the lessons he learned from seeing prejudice at its most extreme and his subsequent determination to make the world a better place.

Fearing for their safety, Tona and his mother fled the violence by foot. Only four years old at the time, he was forced into the bush and walked for three weeks without food. Tona and his mother survived, a feat he believes can only be described as a miracle, but sadly many members of their family were lost.

At only 20, Tona was one of the founding members of the Aegis Students/Aegis Trust's grassroots movement in Rwanda, engaging young Rwandans to learn about the genocide and work to ensure it never happens again. He has organized international conferences on youth mobilization, worked on issues of genocide prevention and human rights.