We Day is Free The Children’s annual “youth empowerment” event. Held in cities across Canada, We Day motivates youth to take action on local and global issues. Each student group that attends is asked to make a commitment of one local and one global action throughout the year in order to help create positive change in the world (source)

These kids earned their way this this event, by being the most awesome at giving and charity, and they genuinely enjoy doing it.  The money rasied is for the Canadian organization, Free the Children: the world’s largest network of children helping children, with more than one million youth in 45 countries involved.

These kids are into learning how to build healthy and sustainable communities, how to “foster a stronger more compassionate nation“, said Marc Kielburger, co-founder of Free The Children.

You’ll recognize some of these supporting faces.

They called it the, ‘Generation Without Borders‘, and the most activist generation, ever.  There will be over 90,000 youth participating this year across Canada.

Here’s 22,000 screaming teenagers.

Know what they’re cheering for? The founder of ‘Doctors Without Borders’.  Their teachers.  Getting water to an impoverished African village.

I KNOW :O

This was the first TELUS WeDay, they just shook hands with ‘Free the Children’ for 5 years.  Congratulations guys!

Backstage I ran into my long-time hair stylist, Brennen Demelo.  He and his team had volunteered for today’s event.  See internet, I’ll only steer you towards good.

I think if your kid participates in one WeDay, spends the months earning their way here, and then experiences an event like this, they can’t come out that bad.

Watch Toronto WeDay on TV:

– Much Music, November 11 at 7pm

– CTV, November 24 at 7pm

Maybe one of the most pure atmospheres I’ve ever been in.  Even my robot eyes misted up.

WeDay Coming Soon:

• We Day Waterloo Region: November 14, 2012, Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex
• We Day Montreal: November 20, 2012, Theatre St Denis
• National We Day: April 29, 2013, Robert Guertin Arena in Ottawa

(an aside)

To me, online means public

It’s big internet out there, and I worry how the kids put so much of their life online.

Parents please: keep an eye on video chat, not a lot of good ever comes out of video chat; remind them they should have minimum-8-character passwords; that their photos will follow them, the internet doesn’t forget; and no one under the age of 10, needs a Facebook account.

IMPORTANT: make sure their EXIF data, and geo-location services, are turned OFF.

EXIF data – information attached to an uploaded photo.  GPS location, time, model of phone, more. Can be used to track the person, in real time, using a simple web app.

Also parents – if you hear at work about the TELUS WISE program, ask to attend.  It’s the first security-awareness program of its kind in Canada, and it will help you help your kid, to make good online choices.