We Day Will Rock You!

Click here to read Emily's report of We Day.

For Emily's behind-the scenes report from We Day, click here.

For Emily's Q&A pressroom session with the celeb speakers of We Day, click here.

Over the past 10 years, the covers of Youthink have been graced with some of the hottest musicians, promoting concerts sure to rock Vancouver and beyond. On September 29th, however, a very different type of concert is playing out at GM Place, one that is sure to shake our beliefs, sound out across the nation and reach out beyond our borders.

We Day is best described as “a rock concert for social good,” according to Free The Children’s co-founder, Marc Kielburger. Two years ago, Free the Children’s first We Day was held in Toronto, welcoming 7,500 youth. “We decided a gathering is what we needed – something where young leaders from one school could meet and connect with young leaders from other schools,” says Marc. “We decided to add a lineup of inspirational speakers and entertainers and with that, We Day was born.”

Marc and Craig Kielburger of Free the Children

Since its humble beginnings, Free the Children has grown from a group of 12-year-olds working out of the Kielburger family’s garage, to the world’s largest organization of children helping children. Craig, Marc’s brother, started the organization in Toronto in 1995 after being inspired by an article he read about Iqbal Masih, a former child labourer who was brutally murdered. The charitable organization’s programs aim to free children through education, from poverty and exploitation, and also, to free more privileged children from feeling powerless against global issues. One of the biggest projects carried out to achieve these goals is the annual We Day.

For three-and-a-half hours, students will attend the free event, which aims to celebrate and inspire a desire for change. “As soon as you walk out, you can feel the energy and the excitement. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” describes Marc of past We Days in Toronto.

This year, the event is being held not only in Toronto, but also, for the first time in Halifax and Vancouver, and will reach even more youth through a live webcast and television special, resulting in hundreds of thousands of viewers. “We are always welcoming more people to the Free The Children family and we want to make sure they have the opportunity to celebrate with us. That’s why we have to keep expanding our celebration. Next year, we hope to take We Day to still more Canadian cities. One day soon, we’re hoping to take it internationally,” Marc enthuses.

Jason Mraz will be performing at Vancouver's We Day

The Vancouver event will be hosted by etalk’s Tanya Kim and Ben Mulroney, and boasts appearances by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, actress and activist Mia Farrow, animal rights activist Dr. Jane Goodall, musicians Jason Mraz and the Canadian Tenors, former child soldier Michel Chikwanine, motivational speaker Spencer West and more. The premier of We Day on the west coast is expected to welcome 16,000 student leaders from more than 600 schools from as far as Hawaii and as close as the Greater Vancouver area.

So why bring We Day out west in 2009? “It’s been a big year for us in British Columbia with the opening of our west coast office,” explains Marc. “That made Vancouver the perfect place to start expanding this fantastic event. Judging by the energy we’ve seen in Toronto, there’s no doubt in my mind that Vancouver’s will be an equally incredible event.”

However, We Day isn’t about one set place, or even about one set day. The aim is both to look at how much has been accomplished in the past, and to set goals for what needs to be accomplished in the future. “We Day is something that lives on even after the day is over. When the show is finished, our schools leave ready to change the world.”

Schools attending the event are expected to make action plans, and to leave the event inspired to follow through with them. As Allison Sandmeyer, Director of Youth Programming for Free the Children, puts it: “The We Day event itself is just the beginning. It sets the stage for an exclusive year-long program for students throughout North America to create global change.”

To say that We Day has been successful is an understatement. To date, as a direct result of the event, over 15,000 schools have submitted their action plans for social change, and donated over 150,000 volunteer hours and more than $5 million. This has provided the means to build 150 schools, providing education to 6,000 students in rural communities of Kenya, India, China, Sri Lanka, Ecuador and Sierra Leone. It has built 30 clean water projects, benefiting more than 60,000 people, and it has implemented 200 alternative income projects, benefiting more than 1,000 people in rural 
communities.

So what does Free the Children want to achieve with We Day 2009? “What we hope to do is engage people, especially young people, by asking them to learn and make a lifelong commitment to becoming a global citizen,” says Marc. “We Day is a celebration of their accomplishments and a chance for them to meet other young people with the same interests and passions.”

Clearly, We Day is a rock concert like no other.