We Day

We Day

Written by Julia Pinnock, Gr. 10

Who’s ready to make a change? We are!
Who’s ready to make a difference? We are!!
Who’s ready to change the world? WE ARE!!!

These were the electrifying words spoken by Marc and Craig Keilberger at the closing of We Day, appropriately dubbed, ‘the Youth Leadership Movement of our Time’. With eighteen thousand youth and educators filling Rogers Arena, it truly was an awe-inspiring experience. With guest speakers such as former leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, actress-turned-political-activist Mia Farrow, and of course the incredible Keilberger brothers, founders of Free the Children, it was a line-up of icons, the likes of which many of the attendees had never seen before.               

 It all began when Craig was twelve years old. He read about a boy who was the same age named Iqbal Masih, who was murdered for speaking out against child labour. Iqbal had been forced to work in a carpet bonding factory since the age of four. Enraged by what he had read, Craig decided that he wanted to make a difference, and prevent hearing more stories like that of Iqbal. This was the beginning of what would become Free the Children, and the cornerstone for WeDay. If they could do it, why can’t we? Well, WeDay showed us that we can; we can make a difference, and we can change the world. We’re doing it right now. They call us the Hero Generation, because these are the deciding years. These are the years where we find out if we can reverse the mark we’ve made on the planet, and humanity, and try to fix our old mistakes with new solutions. We are the leaders of tomorrow, and WeDay was the beginning of our steps forward today.

http://www.weday.com/