Best moment of We Day was when I was asked which media outlet I was representing at the registration desk. “Crunchy Carpets” I declared proudly!! 🙂
And I was in….upstairs to the media lounge and PRIMO viewing area looking down at the 18000 amazingly excited and enthusiastic school kids…who stayed excited and enthusiastic from 9:45 am to 2 in the afternoon.
Ben Mulroney hosted this ‘hip to the youth’ concert for peace, activism and volunteerism. The program started with the two brothers behind the Free the Children organization; Craig and Marc Kielberger who are obviously loved and well respected by the cheering crowds.
“Fifteen years ago, one boy’s courageous story inspired 12 students to stand up against poverty and exploitation. That group of 12 has grown to over a million strong. Today 18,000 students will come together, breaking the perception that young people are powerless to change the world for the better,” said Craig Kielburger, co-founder, Free The Children. “In the last year, We Day’s inspirational messages propelled students into action volunteering over one million hours of service and raising $1.5 million for local causes and $3 million for global causes.”
I will admit that I hadn’t heard much about the We Day event last year, but had heard of Craig and Marc and their amazing story of caring and passion that created Free the Children. They are truly remarkable young men and awesome role models for young people everywhere…especially in the first world, where wants and needs get mixed up in between Barbies and Ben 10.
Free the Children is an organization that WANTS to be run by the youth…WANTS youth to be empowered into taking action…to help both locally and internationally….to show that small scale help can turn into big things.
Free the Children has built 650 schools in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They have helped provide health care, medical supplies, school kids and alternative income strategies for marginalized women.
Free the Children works with schools and educators to help organize school led fund raising programs. They also aim to make sure that for every international initiative they contribute locally too. This year they are focusing on Aboriginal education for the many marginalized First Nations people in Canada.
The show had an incredible line up of speakers and entertainment. Hedley had the crowd JUMPING and singing along and the Barenaked Ladies ended the show on a rousing up note….which I fled from..driven by the idea of NOT wanting to share the Skytrain with 18000 kids.
The brothers want to show that caring is cool and they seem to have achieved that. When former Vice President Al Gore gets a standing ovation, you know you must do something right.
“Courtesy CTV”
I do feel truly lucky to have been given the opportunity to hear him speak live. He is a great speaker and his passion for the environment and ideals about what we can and have to do for our children and the future of the planet was truly stirring.
Part of the program for the press was a Q & A with the Kielburger brothers, Martin Sheen and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. That was a lot of fun for a lookey loo like me. And I was impressed to see that bloggers really represented there with the ‘real’ press.
Being in a small room with Rev. Jackson was electrifying. That man can talk. That man can hold a room…big or small. That man could make you scream ‘hell yeah’ if he told you penguins could fly. Even Mr. Sheen made us all stop HIS Q&A so we could watch Rev. Jackson bring the children to their knees.
Both Martin Sheen and the Rev. Jackson stated how impressed they were by this CANADIAN program and how despite all the negative perception about youth today…drugs, alcohol, crime – that programs like the We Day and Free the Children showed hope for the future and that all change could and should happen at the feet of the young.
And I hope he is right. I tend to be a tad skeptic when it comes to charitable events….I wonder at the money behind them. I wonder at the REAL reasons a person might donate massive sums to put together such a huge show. WeDay was free to all the school children there. I don’t think the talent was.
But in truth….the children and the schools all deserved recognition for their charitable efforts. Being a kind and caring person is a valuable lesson that is not seen enough in these times.
I do wonder though….if the kids really get it. Do they understand why that country is poorer than that one over there? Do they understand the business and politics behind why some people have water and other’s don’t? Do they understand the effects of global market places on third world countries. How our riches, our ‘toys’, our computers and so on are destroying the environment of other children in other countries?
I try to teach my kids about the world. I try to show them how lucky we are. How lucky they are to have the lives they do have.
I rant about starving more appreciable kids who WOULD eat my carefully made lunches. I rave at them about how spoiled they are with all the toys, and video games…the sheer excess of their first world middle (lower) class lives.
We showed them the Banksy’s Simpsons Intro the other night. We explained what a ‘sweat shop’ was. We told them that sometimes KIDS made the toys or the packaging or the shoes or the clothing that THEY enjoyed and that THOSE kids did not have the means to buy the stuff themselves and instead of school worked.
It is sad that it took a SIMPSONS cartoon for it to sink in. Sink in briefly….until that capitalistic altar, the mighty television, showed them the next big thing they had to want!!
I think efforts like Free the Children are important. I think anything that can connect children globally…to make them feel ownership for the planet they live on…not just their street or neighbourhood….is vital to humanity.
Being connected, taking responsibility is the only way things will ever improve…..people have to stop looking away and hoping someone else takes care of their problems.
Perhaps our children will be the one’s to figure this out.
In the next few months, Free the Children has a few campaigns for children to take part in….one being on Halloween….a Halloween for Hunger initiative that asks kids to dress up and go door to door asking for donations to their local food banks. For more information on this, please visit www.freethechildren.com/halloweenforhunger.
Another takes place on November 19th, where they are asking youth across the country to to stay silent for 24 hours including no cell phones, Facebook or Twitter accounts! YIPES! This in an effort to give a voice to the children silences by poverty, war and oppression throughout our world. Participants can collect donations for each hour, minute or second they stay silent. To learn more about the Vow of Silence and where the donations would go, visit www.iamsilent.com.
I want to thank Angie Gurley, Director of PR & Publicity for We Day 2010, and whatever people got me on the accreditation invite list for this event. It was an amazing experience and something well worth annoying everyone with my tweets about.
In fact it was really great to see the amount of bloggers and online digital media that was there alongside the ‘old school’ outlets. Thank you CTV people too!!
harrietglynn says
Sounds like an amazing day. And yea! All hail Rev Jackson, that man can orate!