At 22, Amir Farahi Takes Action to Help His Community in Canada
At the age of 22, Amir Farahi has run for local office and has established a think-tank in his hometown of London, Canada. 


His family fled Iran’s totalitarian government in the 1970’s, which would later inspire him to run for City Council. Amir became the youngest person to run for office in his hometown.  His campaign was a pivotal force in spurring millennials to make an impact on the political process. 

“I would have never guessed ten years ago that I would run for the City Council,” Amir said. 

Although he lost his first attempt at public office, Amir wanted more in-depth political training. After receiving positive recommendations from his friends, Amir decided to attend Leadership Institute’s Campaign Management School. The four-day training provided him with the tools and knowledge to put together a successful campaign plan. 

“The Campaign Management School’s hands-on exercises were useful and resourceful, as they accurately demonstrated the process of putting together a campaign and doing research,” Amir said. “I have taken forty pages of notes and I still have a whole day left of the training!”

Amir aspires to be a civic leader who “provides plans and solutions to enhance the standard of living and improve people’s lives.” 

To fulfill this ambitious task, he organized Canadian think-and-do tank, The London Institute. This organization works to bring people together to solve problems and spur economic development. 

Amir doesn’t know what his future holds, but he has no doubt the Leadership Institute equipped him to succeed in politics. 

“The Leadership Institute has taught me the best process to pursue in order to put together a campaign plan and do the necessary research in the most thorough way possible. Additionally, I learned this week about the hands-on skills that I need in order to put on fundraising events, campaign events, and similar staples of a political campaign. The Leadership Institute even spent time detailing social media skills in a thorough way.”  

The Campaign Management School, in Amir’s words, took “what could have been a complicated campaign machine and broke it into smaller pieces to help us understand how it operates.” 

As a recent graduate from Western University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics, Amir nonetheless proclaimed, “The past four days were a better and more useful educational experience than the entire four years of my degree program in Political Science.” 

Whether Amir ultimately holds elected office, manages a campaign, or expands his think-tank, he says his experience at the Campaign Management School gave him the skills to be a “leader of his community.” 

When asked for his advice for newcomers to the political arena, Amir said: “If you are looking to get involved in politics, then the Leadership Institute should be your first stop. It is the one place where you can gain the practical skills to know how to effectively campaign.” 

Join me and congratulate Amir on his innovation and persistence to make a difference in his community.

If you’re interested in the Campaign Management School Amir took, you can learn more here.  Leadership Institute offers more than 47 types of training programs, working with more than 1,868 conservative student groups, and helping employers connect with conservative job seekers. 

Since the Institute’s 1979 founding, LI has trained more than 186,207 conservative activists, students, and leaders. Graduates include members of Congress, state legislators, local officials, media personalities, and conservative organization leaders.

>