On September 29th, twenty-six Delview students were given the unique opportunity to attend Vancouver's first ever WE Day event held at GM Place. A variety of inspirational speakers and performers addressed the youth on topics regarding the promotion of peace and taking the leap towards creating a better world. WE Day is an initiative put forth by a non-profit organization called Free the Children (which many of you may recognize as the power behind other programs like Volunteer Now).
The beginning of the day was definitely discouraging because of rush hour traffic, crowded busses and the even more crowded sky trains. The poor weather wasn't particularly helpful either but, once you entered the stadium, you couldn't deny the energy and enthusiasm of 16,000 eager audience members.
As the speakers and performers took the stage to promote awareness by sharing stories and statistics of social injustices around the world, they were greeted by cheers and roars from a spirited crowd of today's generation. Undoubtedly, those who attended the event gained plenty of knowledge to aid them in creating positive changes, whether they be small or large. This year's line-up included His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Jane Goodall, Mia Farrow, Jason Mraz, Jacob Hoggard, Spencer West, Sarah McLachlan and a number of other incredibly motivating acts and speakers (including the founders of Free the children: Marc and Craig Kielburger).
Although each honourable guest had different things to say, and different ways to go about getting across their message, the main ideas behind the youth rally were heard loud and clear. As Governor General Michaëlle Jean stated, we are “the leaders of today”. Students were encouraged to immediately implement a youth-driven movement in order to help others. After all, hope for a better future is influenced by the actions we take now. It's easy to feel small and insignificant in a world so large, but, like Jane Goodall discussed, it takes a ripple to create a wave.
