Editor’s Note: Macaroni Kid was once again invited to We Day. This year over 429 schools and 16,000 Ottawa students earned their tickets to this amazing event by giving back to their communities. Read on to see what my 11 year old thought about the day.
Wednesday I went to We Day at the Canadian Tire Centre with my mom. It was great! For those who don’t know about We Day, it is an event to inspire youth to do actions locally in their community and globally worldwide, created by Marc & Craig Kielburger. The lineup included speakers such as: Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, Martin Luther King III, National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, Spencer West, Hannah Alper, and three-time Olympic gold champion in women’s hockey Jennifer Botterill.
My favourite part of We Day this year was when Martin Luther King III spoke. He talked about how you could be a thermometer or you could be a thermostat. Thermometers record temperature whereas thermostats change temperature. Everyone in the world has a choice. To be a thermometer and record history or to be a thermostat and change it. I thought it was a great inspirational speech. Right before he came up, they showed a video of heroes throughout time and one of the last ones was his dad, Martin Luther King Jr.
I was able to go behind the scenes at We Day in the press room. We all got settled in and then they brought out Hannah Alper, Spencer West, and Craig Kielburger (picture on left). We didn’t have a lot of time but I managed to ask one question to Spencer West: “I know your belief is to redefine possible, how does this relate to the We Day motto?” His answer was: “I think it relates because it can really be applied to anyone. There’s always going to be challenges so I think to redefine possible inspires everyone.”
To learn more visit weday.com.
