Your Chance to Change the World

By: Kathleen Collins

Last month on February 23rd and 24th, Montreal hosted its seventh annual We Day – A celebration of change and an inspiration for kids everywhere to change the world.

We Day began with the We Movement, a small charity created by brothers Craig and Marc Keilburger. It was made as an effort to help people in developing countries improve their living situations. Little did they know that their project would take off and find roots all over the globe. People involved in the We Movement are given a chance to participate in unique fundraisers to raise money to build wells, schools, and even allow single mothers to gain autonomy in their everyday lives.

The We Movement has expanded and now consists of many different and distinct branches of charities – like We Villages, We Schools, and Me to We. Here’s where We Day comes in.

We Day is a “manifestation of the We Movement,” the original idea that started it all. It brings young people together and empowers them to change the world. The event itself is like a live concert. Musicians and other performers play songs in between inspirational speakers, who tell incredible stories of personal leadership and how they changed the world. It’s a way to kick start another year of change. We Day is an incredible, life changing experience meant to inspire the next generation to stand up, be heard, and make a difference.

We Day is directed towards the younger generations – kids in primary and secondary schools tend to fill the auditorium. Many schools involved in the We Movement are given a certain number of tickets to give to the most involved students at their schools.

The only catch was that there was no way to buy a ticket to We Day. Tickets to the event had to be earned through global and local volunteer actions. Because of this, only people who are truly motivated to change the world were invited to attend. The lives of the people invited to We Day are altered forever. A Laurenhill Academy student who attended We Day last year stated that “It was an amazing and surreal experience. It was so inspiring to see people my age or younger making a difference in this world, and it encouraged me to do the same.”

The line-up for this year’s We Day includes performers such as Jordan Smith (a previous Voice winner), the Celebrity Marauders (an international DJ group), Lynelle Cantwell (a motivational speaker and activist against bullying), Spencer West (a well-known We ambassador), and even Craig Keilburger, one of the founders himself! It was an interesting and enlightening show!

We Day encourages and empowers students all over the world to shift their thinking from me to we. It allows them to make the world a better place, for everyone who inhabits it. As a student attending We Day once said, “It’s always easier to carry a weight with someone else. Together, we can accomplish more. Even just one tiny step in the right direction is one step closer to a better world.”