OTTAWA—National We Day was a high-energy rally encouraging kids to get involved in solving local and global problems.
About 4,000 young people from schools across Ontario filled the Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau, Quebec on April 29 to hear educators, celebrities, and organizers Marc and Craig Kielburger inspire and mobilize them to make positive changes in the world.
Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor and activist Martin Sheen talked about the importance of taking action. “Find something in your life worth fighting for,” he told the crowd.
“You can’t buy a ticket to We Day—you earn it through service in your community” is not just a slogan of the National We Day rally. The students had to pledge to participate in both a global and a local activity in order to attend the event.
Brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger, co-founders of Free The Children and acclaimed international children’s rights activists, spoke about the many positive changes youth have realized over the past year.
Craig Kielburger is a social entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and syndicated columnist. He co-founded Free The Children in 1995 when he was just 12 years old.
Today, he remains a full-time volunteer for the organization, now the world’s leading youth-driven charity. What began as a group of kids working out of a garage now has more than 1.7 million young people involved in its programs.
As well as Sheen, speakers and performers included National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Shawn Atleo; principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada Jillian Vanstone; Second Cup founder, Canadian entrepreneur, humanitarian, and author Frank O'Dea; visually impaired Me to We motivational speaker Molly Burke; and Spencer West, a Me to We motivational speaker who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro on his hands in 2012; and several others.
GioVanni is a publicist, writer/photographer, image maker, and radio and TV host in Ottawa. For upcoming events contact GioVanni at [email protected]
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 20 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
Friends Read Free