Article appeared in the Dec. 1, 2011 issue of the Interlake Spectator..
On November 23, 16,000 students from 400 Manitoba and Northern Ontario schools gathered at the MTS Centre for “We Day”, for its first ever visit to Winnipeg. The event was not just your ordinary school field trip. Students were truly “pumped” to be taking part, and the diversity of speakers met with deafening cheers for a full five hours.
The words, “We can” rang out loudly throughout the day, and “awesome” was all students could say when it was over.
Thanks to the generous support of sponsors, We Day was offered at no cost to those who attended.
The event, held in several cities across Canada, is put on by Free The Children, to inspire youth to take an active role in global change. Students who attended also take part in Free The Children’s “We Schools in Action” program, in which they commit to take action on at least one local and one global issue throughout the school year. Participation in this program has resulted in increased student engagement in their school and community.
In the 2010/2011 school year, We Day youth volunteered more than 1.7 million hours of their time and raised $5.4 million in donations to support local and global organizations. They collected more than 519,000 lbs of food to stock the shelves at food banks, through events like ‘Halloween for Hunger’.
We Day was a first class event, with an impressive list of guest speakers, which included, co-founders of Free The Children, Craig and Marc Kielburger; We Day host MuchMusic VJs Jesse Giddings and Sarah Taylor; former U.S. Vice President and Nobel Laureate, Al Gore; actress and activist, Mia Farrow; award winning recording artists, Hedley; Manitoba Premier, Greg Selinger; former Canadian Prime Minister and Founder of the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, Paul Martin; Vice-President of the Manitoba Metis Federation Inc. Southwest Region, Manitoba Metis Federation‘s Minister of Education, and chair of the Louis Riel Institute, Leah LaPlante; former Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Dennis White Bird; gold-medal Paralympian and activist, Rick Hansen; JUNO Award nominated Canadian band, Down With Webster; Canadian pop icon, Shawn Desman; renowned Canadian band, Neverest; actors Munro Chambers and Aislinn Paul from the hit series “Degrassi”; Canadian singer/songwriter, Sierra Noble; founder of the Ladybug Foundation, Hannah Taylor; and Me to We motivational speakers, Spencer West and Michel Chikwanine.
The musical performances were a big hit with students, but they were just as engaged in the messages delivered by both local and international celebrities.
Former actress Mia Farrow, goodwill ambassador for Unicef, presented a video about her work in Africa, and urged students to get involved in creating change.
“You can change the course of history,” she assured. “You are the generation I have been waiting for.”
Former US Vice-President Al Gore, who created the documentary “The Inconvenient Truth”, spoke on climate change and the need to care for the planet, emphasizing that we “have to stop treating the world like it’s an open sewer.”
The challenge of disabilities was also in the spotlight, with Rick Hansen describing the determination it took to complete his “Man in Motion” tour. Hansen wheeled 20,000 Kms through 34 countries, raising money for spinal cord injury research. He continues to challenge attitudes and break down barriers.
“It’s not what happens to you. It’s what you do with it,” he said.
Hansen introduced Spencer West, who lost his legs at age five as a result of a genetic disease. West spoke about his “Redefine Possible” campaign. Next year, West will continue to redefine what’s possible by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro on his hands.
He has also just released a new book, “Standing Tall, My Journey”.
A poignant presentation was made by Michel Chikwanine, who was given a “round of silence” in honour of the 300,000 children who were silenced. Chikwanine recounted experiences as a former child soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He told the painful story of being beaten by his captors who then poured cocaine onto his wounds.
“They made me shoot my best friend,” he recounted.
First Nations concerns also took centre stage, with Leah LaPlante, Dennis White Bird, and Paul Martin speaking on some of the issues and challenges.
LaPlante, a one time a high school dropout who was determined to turn her life around, delivered the message to youth, “never give up”. LaPlante eventually completed a university education, and is now president of the Manitoba Metis Federation Inc., Southwest Region, the Manitoba Metis Federation‘s Minister of Education, as well as the chair of the Louis Riel Institute.
“We all have chances in life,” she encouraged. “It’s all about the choices you make…Never give up on your dreams. You can do it.”
Paul Martin’s focus was on his work to make sure that every Aboriginal student in Canada is able to get a decent education. He was passionate in his concerns about the poor resources in many Aboriginal schools, such as no gymnasiums, no science labs, a shortage of teachers, and not enough courses to qualify students for post-secondary education.
“Is that fair?” he asked.
Maritn later met privately with Dennis White Bird, Former Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and a group of Aboriginal students to discuss challenges in Aboriginal education. White Bird had taught in the public school system for seven years before serving in political office, and continues to promote First Nations youth issues, particularly in the area of education.
At the end of We Day, three lucky students found themselves in the spotlight with Jesse Giddings from MuchMusic. The students were finalists in a draw for an all expense paid trip with four friends and a teacher to a destination of their choice in order to work on a Free the Children project.
Jensen Fridfinnson, grade 10 student at Arborg Collegiate Institute, was one of the finalists. She did not win the big prize. However, she and the other runner-up have won a spot in an intensive week-long series of seminars at Take Action Academy which will take place next year.
“It was really exciting. It was really cool because it was so random,” said Fridfinnson who was amazed to have been chosen out of 16,000 others.
Fridfinnson is active in social justice issues in her school. Students at Arborg Collegiate have gotten together since We Day and have decided to raise money to build a well for any community in the world that needs it.
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