“Today, you are 20,000 stars who have a light inside of you to achieve anything you believe in!” – Col. Chris Hadfield
On Friday, September 20, over 20,000 students, educators and change makers filled the seats of the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, ON to watch and listen to many inspiring performers, speakers and stories. It was all part of Free the Children’s 7th annual We Day event, the kick-off to the year-long We Act program which motivates students to act and make a change locally and globally. This year’s event in Toronto was the first of 12 dates which will spread across Canada and into the U.S. and London, England.
Co-host Darren Criss is joined on stage by his GLEE co-star, Jacob Artist.
We Day Toronto was hosted by three people who are very familiar with entertaining and pumping up crowds: Much VJ Scotty Willats, MTV host Aliya-Jasmine Sovani and GLEE star Darren Criss. They introduced each performer and speaker and shared some personal stories of their own. We Day always boasts an incredible talent line-up and this year was no different – the performers included Jonas Brothers, Serena Ryder, Imagine Dragons and Austin Mahone and the speakers included Spencer West, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, local youth Hannah Alper and Vishal Vijay and DEGRASSI’s Munro Chambers and Jessica Tyler. Everyone on stage had a message to share and they all had one common theme: now is the time to make a difference and be the change you hope to see!
During their opening speech, Free the Children co-founders and brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger talked about the importance of We Day and thanked everyone in attendance for their work. Marc said, “That noise you are hearing is the power of we. We are the movement. We are the voice of our generation. WE ARE WE DAY!”
Free the Children co-founders and brothers, Craig and Marc Kielburger, talked about the importance of We Day.
They also introduced the launch of their new app in collaboration with Telus and RBC, We365. It is a digital platform for social change. You can meet other people passionate about making a difference, track and verify your volunteer activities for school or work and much more. The app will be available to download free on October 18. Learn more at http://www.we365.com/connect/.
Joe Jonas performed with his brothers Kevin and Nick and talked about his recent trip to Kenya.
The Jonas Brothers got the crowd on their feet with the performance of their hit single, “Pom Poms.” Afterwards, Joe spoke to the crowd about his recent trip to Kenya with Free the Children and said that he loved traveling to the rural villages, adding, “That’s where I got my hands dirty helping to build new classrooms.” Did you know the Jonas Brothers graciously give 10% of their income to causes and charities they care about? In fact, the guys have their own charity – the Change for the Children Foundation – and are always supporting great works, like Free the Children’s initiatives, via their social media platforms.
Spencer West talked about his experiences and about overcoming barriers for change.
Spencer West continues his mission to redefine possible every day and spoke to the crowd about his experiences with Free the Children, such as climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro on his hands and in his wheelchair in June 2012, and about some of their campaigns. Talking about overcoming barriers for change he said, “Get mad, get angry, speak out and then do something about it.” He also added, “The world needs you. I need you. These communities [in Kenya] need you.”
Speaker Molly Burke brought the crowd to tears.
Me to We motivational speaker Molly Burke brought the crowd to tears while telling her story about how she was poorly treated by people she thought were her friends just because she was visually impaired. Today, she doesn’t let rude comments hold her down and credits music as being one of her best friends. She shouted out fellow We Day Toronto performer Demi Lovato and her song “Warrior” as being a song she loved and could relate to. She ended her speech by saying, “Words can tear us apart, but words can also heal.”
Closing the show with a bang, award-winning pop singer and actress Demi Lovato performed her powerful song “Skyscraper” with soon-to-be GLEE co-star Darren Criss (Demi will be joining the show this fall for a guest role) and the Kenyan Boys Choir. Demi, who took to Twitter after the show to express how much she was inspired by the crowd, said, “We Day! Together all of us are changing the world!” before singing her new single, “Neon Lights.”
To close the show, Demi Lovato was joined on stage by the Kenyan Boys Choir and Darren Criss during her performance of “Skyscraper”.
THE MAGAZINE caught up with Craig Kielburger during the day to talk about the growing influence of We Day on youth.
This is the seventh year We Day has been celebrated in Toronto and each year seems to trump the year before. Why do you think youth are so much more willing and excited to make a change now than ever before?
I think young people are more aware and more informed and because of that more passionate about social issues. I think We Day answers a need for young people who are looking to find their cause and looking to find a way to get involved. We Day is part of showing that it’s possible and even cool for young people to make a difference and that momentum keeps building more every single year. So, we’re thrilled, especially this year to be the first year coast to coast.
Everybody in attendance, even the talent on-stage, left with a burning desire to make a change and had new ideas to spread the message that change is needed and can be done. As one speaker said, “The best first step is conversation.”
The conversation will continue when the special TV broadcast premieres Monday, November 11 at 7 p.m. EST on MTV and Much. If you can’t tune in then, highlights will air again on Saturday, November 23 at 7 p.m. EST and Sunday, November 24 at 5 p.m. EST on CTV.
Don’t hesitate – be the change NOW!