On October 18, 2013, the standard green, white and blue of Rogers Arena was replaced by the bright neon t-shirts of approximately 20,000 educators and students from more than 700 schools, province-wide. We Day Vancouver featured world-renowned speakers and performers, such as Spencer West, Jacob Hoggard (of Hedley), Kofi Annan, Avril Lavigne, Martin Luther King III, and Down With Webster.
We Day is an initiative of Free the Children, an organization co-founded in 1995 by then 12 year-old brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. When asked what drove him to create initiatives like We Day back in 2007, Craig remarked that he was just trying to create something he wished he had back when he and Marc were kids. Basically, the Kielburgers wanted to make it “cool to care.”
Tickets for the event were free of charge for all attendees, with one caveat: all attendees had to have participated in one local and global action in order to be eligible for attendance. The students selected to attend the annual event were chosen based on their volunteer work history and merit as part of We Act. This year-long service learning program enables students to earn their way to We Day.
Since 2007, We Act has helped thousands of youth volunteers, raised over $37 million dollars, and collected over four million pounds of food. We Act is just one of the engagement programs offered by Free the Children — an international charity that promotes education, sanitation and health care for the less fortunate.
Kielburger continued, “Music, academics, and sports are all part of a well-rounded childhood, but so is service — that’s why we wanted to create this. [We Day] is the Grey Cup of doing good; [it] is the Super Bowl of service!”
We Act chooses specific charitable causes each year; this year there was an emphasis on bullying.
By creating a large-scale event tailored towards budding student leaders, the brothers hoped to create an environment in which young people were inspired, engaged, and empowered to lead through service. The Honorable Romeo A. Dallaire, Lieutenant-General of Canada, urged attendants to “be the generation without borders.”
We Act chooses specific charitable causes each year, and this year there was an emphasis on bullying. Molly Burke, a young, visually-impaired motivational speaker, told an enlightening story on how she was relentlessly bullied, but eventually chose to stand up for herself. Premier Christy Clark also spoke at the event, and proclaimed to that effect: “How do we stop bullies? Stand up!”
We Day Vancouver also marked the launch of the newest initiative from Free the Children — We365, a digital platform that acts as a “one-stop shop” for youth to take action. This platform can be accessed through a mobile app or online website, and it allows youth to collect and track volunteer hours, as well as connect with other social activists. It is the first platform of its kind, with special features for youth under 13, and the Parent Tested Parent Approved Winner’s Seal of Approval.
Developed in Canada, We Day has expanded to become a global phenomenon. The stadium-sized movement has spread to the US — with conferences being held in Minnesota and Seattle — and for the first time ever, We Day will be held in London, England in March 2014.
