We Day Explained

Frequency:Annual
Location:Canada, United States and U.K.
First:2007
Last:2020
Participants:200,000+[1]
Organized:WE Charity
Website:http://www.we.org/we-day/
Years Active:2007–2020

We Day (stylized as WE Day) was an annual series of stadium-sized youth empowerment events organized by We Charity (formerly known as Free The Children), a Canadian charity founded by brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger. WE Day events host tens of thousands of students and celebrate the effect they have made on local and global issues.[2] Students earn their tickets by participating in the We Schools program, a year-long service learning program run by We Charity. Each event features a lineup of social activists, speakers and musical performances.[3] The event was cancelled in September 2020 with the winding down of Canadian operations of the We Charity, following the WE Charity scandal.[4] [5]

Background

The first WE Day was held in October 2007, at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Canada. Since then, the program has expanded to include annual events in 17 cities in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, including Vancouver, London, Chicago and Seattle. The event has featured speeches by global leaders such as Al Gore, Elie Wiesel, Martin Luther King III,[6] Kofi Annan[7] and performances by artists such as Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Lilly Singh,[8] Jennifer Hudson and Nelly Furtado.[9]

WE Charity does not charge an admission fee for school groups or individual students to attend WE Days. To earn entry, schools must pledge to engage in one local and one international effort. WE Charity provides a limited number of tickets to each school and lets the schools decide how to choose which students attend. As of 2014, WE Days take place in 14 cities worldwide, with more than 200,000 students from 8,000 schools in attendance.[10] [11]

According to the WE Charity website WE Days are funded through dedicated cash and in-kind corporate donations. No program donations from youth or private individuals are used to fund WE Day.[12]

WE Day and its parent organization have been criticized for its industry partnerships, including to companies with ties to child labor around the world.[13] WE Day has also been criticized for perceived promotion of corporate sponsors and for pressuring students to promote we.org through social media.[14] [15] In his work on "orphanage tourism," Joseph Cheer, an academic at the Center for Tourism Research at Wakayama University, has criticized WE Day for promoting a for-profit volunteerism model encouraging participants to essentially reframe selfishness as altruistic.[16] Due to a 2020 controversy concerning a contract award, We Charity has scrapped WE Day "for the foreseeable future" in a restructuring move.[17]

WE Schools

WE Schools campaigns cover a range of social issues, such as "WE Scare Hunger", in which participants collect canned food items for their local food banks each Halloween,[18] and "WE Are Silent", a vow of silence in which participants stay silent for 24 hours in solidarity with children overseas whose rights are not upheld.[19]

Events

Cancellation

The event was cancelled in September 2020 with the winding down of Canadian operations of the We Charity, following the WE Charity scandal.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Squamish represents at We Day 2014.
  2. Web site: WE Day. https://web.archive.org/web/20170711152338/http://www.ctv.ca/WE-Day. dead. July 11, 2017. 2018-09-13. ctv.ca. en. 2019-06-05.
  3. Web site: Stars shine at We Day, inspire students to change the world. 2013-03-27. The Seattle Times. en-US. 2019-06-05.
  4. Web site: Slaughter . Graham . Kielburgers 'devastated' by We Charity closure but say 'there's no one to blame' . CTVNews . en . 9 September 2020.
  5. Web site: Tasker . John Paul . WE Charity winding down operations in Canada after student grants scandal . cbc.ca.
  6. Web site: We Day Toronto: MLK III Shares A Secret With We Day. 2013-09-20. HuffPost Canada. en. 2019-06-05.
  7. Web site: Empowering young global citizens at "We Day". 2014-08-28. Kofi Annan Foundation. en-US. 2019-06-05.
  8. Web site: 'Superwoman' star Lilly Singh joins creators taking a break from YouTube. Friend. David. 2018-11-13. CP24. en. 2019-06-05.
  9. Web site: 'We Day Family' event encourages kids, parents to help change the world Entertainment & Showbiz from CTV News. www.ctvnews.ca. 2019-06-05.
  10. News: We Day creating compassionate Saskatchewan youth. Global News. 2018-11-24. en.
  11. News: We Day celebrates volunteering across community, globe. Sanders. Hosea. 2015-04-15. ABC7 Chicago. 2018-11-24. en-US.
  12. Web site: WE Day Special Airs Friday August 17 on ABC! ABC Updates. ABC. 2019-06-05.
  13. Web site: Craig Kielburger Founded WE To Fight Child Labour. Now The WE Brand Promotes Products Made By Children. Kerr, Jaren. 15 October 2018. Canada Land.
  14. News: We Day's blend of activism, corporate messages prompts criticism from teacher. November 16, 2015. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. January 29, 2020.
  15. Web site: A Teacher's Critique of 'We Day'. Atkinson. Alison. 2013-10-30. The Tyee. en. 2020-01-30.
  16. Book: Modern Day Slavery and Orphanage Tourism. Cheer. Joseph M.. Mathews. Leigh. Doore. Kathryn E. van. Flanagan. Karen. 2019-11-25. CABI. 978-1-78924-079-5. en.
  17. Web site: Bensadoun. Emerald. July 22, 2020. WE Charity cancels WE Day activities for 'foreseeable future' after grant controversy. July 27, 2020. Global News. en.
  18. Web site: Another We Scare Hunger Campaign.
  19. Web site: Free The Children We Are Silent Campaign.
  20. Irish, Paul. "Rallying to spark change," Toronto Star. Oct. 16, 2008 https://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/article/517384
  21. Paul Irish: Rallying to spark change. Toronto Star. October 16, 2008.
  22. https://www.ctvnews.ca/national-me-to-we-day-2008-1.333362 “National Me to We Day.”
  23. Lori Culbert and Mary Frances Hill: "'Social change is possible' 16,000 learn at We Day," Vancouver Sun. September 30, 2009.
  24. Sunny Dhillon: Cnews. September 29, 2009.
  25. Web site: Selena Gomez to Host We Day Vancouver!. We Day. 12 July 2013. 1 June 2013.
  26. Web site: We Day London 2014. O'Neill. Doug. Canadian Living. 3 March 2014 . 2019-06-05.
  27. News: Celebrites [sic] Support Youth At We Day Illinois. 2015-05-04. Look to the Stars. 2018-11-24. en.
  28. News: Celebrities Help Young Volunteers Mark "We Day" In Illinois. 2015-04-30. 2018-11-24. en.
  29. News: Selena Gomez Hosting 'We Day' 2015 Maui Z100 Portland. Z100 Portland. 2018-11-24. en-US.
  30. News: Michelle Obama added to 'We Day' special hosted by Selena Gomez. EW.com. 2018-11-24. en.
  31. Web site: TV Ratings Friday: 'We Day' Low, 'Dateline' Up, '20/20′ Down, 'Masters of Illusion' Flat. https://web.archive.org/web/20170709081707/http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/sdsdskdh279882992z1/tv-ratings-friday-we-day-low-dateline-up-2020-down-masters-of-illusion-flat/. dead. 2017-07-09. 2015-08-22. TV By The Numbers. en. 2018-11-24.
  32. Web site: We Day Toronto Line-up Announcement. We Day. December 15, 2015. September 22, 2015.
  33. Web site: WE Day Toronto 2015: The Recap. We Day. December 15, 2015. October 1, 2015.
  34. Web site: 'We Day Family' event encourages kids, parents to help change the world Entertainment & Showbiz from CTV News. www.ctvnews.ca. 13 October 2016 . 2019-01-10.
  35. News: High-octane We Day Toronto sparks young minds. 2019-01-10.
  36. News: Talent lineup for We Day Toronto. 2019-01-10.
  37. Web site: Gord Downie captures students' attention with emotional performance at We Day Globalnews.ca. 2016-10-19. globalnews.ca. en. 2019-06-05.
  38. Web site: Press release: WE Day UN in New York celebrates young people changing the world. UN Women. en. 2019-01-10.
  39. Web site: WE Day UN Takes New York. https://web.archive.org/web/20190110183453/https://etcanada.com/photos/257638/we-day-un-takes-new-york/. dead. January 10, 2019. Croezen. Alyssa. 2019-01-10.
  40. Web site: Kelly Clarkson set to host Toronto WE Day events HELLO! Canada. Canada. HELLO!. ca.hellomagazine.com. en. 2019-06-05.
  41. Web site: Prince Harry, Other WE Day Stars Put An All-Call Out For Kindness. 2017-09-28. HuffPost Canada. en. 2019-01-10.
  42. Web site: WE 2017 . 2024-04-19 . The Rumi Foundation . en-GB.
  43. Web site: Craig . Nicola . 2017-03-08 . WE Day Announce UK Line Up . 2024-04-19 . CelebMix . en-GB.
  44. Web site: The York Family's Royal Year in Review. ForesiReporter. Tiffany. 2019-01-03. Royal Central. en-GB. 2019-06-05.
  45. News: WE Day schedule 2018. 2019-01-10.
  46. Web site: WE Day UN Celebrates With Sarah Michelle Gellar, Darren Criss, Nas, And More!. BWW News Desk. BroadwayWorld.com. en. 2019-06-05.
  47. Web site: Surprise! Prince Harry Shocks Crowd at Youth Event by 'Dragging' Meghan Markle on Stage. PEOPLE.com. en. 2019-03-20.
  48. Web site: Prince Harry surprises crowd, brings Duchess Meghan on stage for WE Day appearance. USA TODAY. en. 2019-03-20.
  49. Web site: WE Day lineup: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Laurie Hernandez among speakers. 2019-04-24. ABC7 Chicago. en. 2019-06-05.
  50. Web site: We Day Atlantic: Empowering Youth to Create Change. Earley. Helen. 2017-11-23. Family Fun Halifax. en-US. 2019-10-22.
  51. Web site: Bianca Andreescu Gives Inspirational Surprise Speech At Toronto's We Day (VIDEO). www.narcity.com. en-CA. 2019-10-22.

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