I have a confession to make. I have been keeping a secret for a few months. I am really excited to tell you that…….
I am going to be a We Day Speaker this year – across Canada! I’m going on tour with We Day!
If you have been reading my blog this year, you know about Free The Children, Me To We and We Day. I have blogged about them and what I have been doing with them. The short version of what could be a very long story of my year with Free The Children is this:
I first learned about Free The Children when I was researching about eco-friendly cleaning supplies. Marc Kielburger, the co – founder of Free The Children, did an award-winning science project in Grade 7, creating non-toxic cleaning supplies. While Marc was doing the chores he saw the warning symbols on store-bought cleaning supplies and he thought “Why do we use these to clean if they’re toxic and hazardous?” So Marc used water, vinegar and baking soda, recipes from his grandmother, to make cleaning supplies. As I learned more about Marc, I was led to his brother Craig and Free The Children.
Highlights of my year of learning and action with Free The Children included
- Being an honoured guest at We Day Waterloo-Region where I got to interview some of the speakers and performers including Craig Kielburger and Spencer West. I also attended the press conference.
- I launched We Create Change at my school and another school and another school in my neighbourhood. We collected 97, 500 pennies to provide clean water to 37 people. I was invited to speak at the wrap-up for We Create Change where Marc announced the final totals – 140, 000, 000 pennies = 1.4 million dollars = clean water for 56, 000 people for life.
- I got an A+ on my book report on Spencer West’s book, Standing Tall.
- I got an A+ on my final project of the year that I did where I shared about Child Labour through the story of Iqbal Masih where I told his story in his voice.
- I participated in the Youth Summit in Toronto.
- I participated in We Are Silent.
- I went to Take Action Camp this summer.
So, now my BIG secret is out. It has been the hardest thing to keep this a secret. When I went to the We Create Change wrap up event, Marc asked my parents and I to wait for him at the end so that he could talk to us. He asked me if I would like to speak at We Day this year. All of them. He told me we should think about it. He said that it would mean that I would miss a lot of school in the fall. What do you say to say to this? YES! Of course YES! and also THANK YOU. I was also very happy that it was Marc who asked me because he is the one who led me find out about Free The Children in the first place.
We have been working hard to get ready for We Day and making plans for speeches and traveling. My parents and I have been living by Spencer West’s motto – No Can’t. No Won’t. Only How.
I’m excited to share details that were just announced today about who will be speaking and performing at We Day in Toronto and Vancouver.
I can’t wait to get started and share my journey along the way.
This is a photo of me and Marc after he asked me to speak at We Day!
The Press Release came out today for who is going to We Day Toronto and Vancouver. Here is the speakers and performers who are going there.
The full list of speakers and performers announced to date include:
Toronto – Friday, September 20, 2013 at the Air Canada Centre
* The Honourable David C. Onley (@LGDavidOnley) – Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
* The Honourable Kathleen Wynne (@Kathleen_Wynne) – Premier of Ontario
* Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – President of Liberia and first elected female Head of State in Africa
* Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) – Award-winning singer-songwriter and Free The Children ambassador
* Jonas Brothers (@jonasbrothers) – GRAMMY®-nominated, multi-platinum artists
* Darren Criss (@darrencriss) – Cast member from the Emmy® Award-winning series Glee (host for We Day Toronto)
* Martin Luther King III – Human Rights advocate and eldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
* Austin Mahone (@austinmahone) – Award-Winning American pop singer and YouTube sensation
* Serena Ryder (@serenaryder) – JUNO Award-winning artist
* Col. Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) – Retired Canadian astronaut and first Canadian to walk in space
* Barenaked Ladies (@barenakedladies) – JUNO Award-winning rock band
* Cast members from the Emmy-nominated TV series DEGRASSI (@Degrassi)
* Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons – CFL Hall of Famer, Vice Chair of the Toronto Argonauts
* Craig and Marc Kielburger (@craigkielburger) – International activists and co-founders of Free The Children
* Kenyan Boys Choir (@BoysChoirKenya) – Traditional African male choir, who sang at the 2009 inauguration of President Obama
* Youth speakers – Hannah Alper, Vishal Vijay and Sydney Brouillard-Coyle
* Spencer West (@spencer2thewest) – Me to We inspirational speaker, Free The Children ambassador, author and double amputee who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro on his hands and in his wheelchair in June, 2012
* Molly Burke (@mollymetowe) – Visually impaired Me to We motivational speaker who speaks out against bullying and the power of hope
* Robin Wiszowaty (@robininkenya) – Me to We motivational speaker, author and Free The Children Program Director in Ghana and Kenya
* Chris Tse – Me to We inspirational speaker, national spoken-word champion and humanitarian
* More to be announced…
Vancouver – Friday, October 18, 2013 at the Rogers Arena
* Kofi Annan (@KofiAnnan) – Former Secretary-General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate, who has recently launched the ‗Kofi Annan Dialogues‘, a series of online conversations inspiring young people to lead
* Martin Luther King III – Human Rights advocate and eldest son of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
* Hedley (@Hedleyonline) – Multi-platinum, JUNO and MMVA Award-winning recording artists
* Craig and Marc Kielburger (@craigkielburger) – International activists and co-founders of Free The Children
* The Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire – Lieutenant-General and author
* Down With Webster (@DOWNWITHWEBSTER) – Five-time JUNO Award-nominated, platinum selling genre-defying band with new album, Party for your Life, coming out October 22nd
* Cast members from the Emmy-nominated TV series DEGRASSI (@Degrassi)
* MTV hosts Aliya-Jasmine Sovani (@AliyaJasmine) and Scott Willats (@scottywillats) (hosts for We Day Vancouver)
* Kenyan Boys Choir (@BoysChoirKenya) – Traditional African male choir, who sang at the 2009 inauguration of President Obama
* Youth speakers – Hannah Alper and Vishal Vijay
* Spencer West (@spencer2thewest) – Me to We inspirational speaker, Free The Children ambassador, author and double amputee who climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro on his hands and in his wheelchair in June 2012
* Molly Burke (@mollymetowe) – Visually impaired Me to We motivational speaker who speaks out against bullying and the power of hope
* Robin Wiszowaty (@robininkenya) – Me to We motivational speaker, author and Free The Children Program Director in Ghana and Kenya
* Chris Tse – Me to We inspirational speaker, national spoken word champion and humanitarian
* More to be announced…
I would like to thank the Free The Children team, the Me to We team and of course the We Day team for inviting me to be part of We Day 2013. But also, thank you for helping me find my spark.
Wow, that’s so awesome! Congratulations to you, what a great honour! You’ll be amazing, I am sure. 🙂
Congratulations, Hannah! What an amazing opportunity for you to share your passion for making the world a better place.
Congratulations Hannah. I am so excited for you. You are an amazing young lady who inspires so many, including us adults!
Mazel tov, Hannah. That is amazing news! Don’t worry about missing school. You will learn and teach so much. Just make sure not to miss summer camp. 😉
Congratulations Hannah!! Absolutely amazing!! What an incredible honor…Very exciting!!
Congrats Hannah!!! Go change the world!
Dear Hannah,
You don’t know me, but I know your Dad from when I worked at eOne (US). I read and watch everything he writes. I love reading about you. I think you are an inspiration to children all over the world. You have shown children that if you care about yourself and this world you can conquer anything. Although I do not know you personally, I feel a sense of pride because you are trying to make the world a better place and I dare anyone to tell you that one person can not make a difference! Congratulations Hannah! Have an amazing time!
Kind regards,
Marlene Sokol Stewart
Hannah that is so amazing! I’m so excited for you!
Hannah, I am so proud of you! I remember meeting you at Digital Family Summit, and being amazed that a 9-year-old had her own business cards! You continued to delight that whole weekend, and I am not even a LITTLE bit surprised you’ve accomplished what you have. Kudos, and thank you!
Can we be best friends, Hannah? I LOVE YOU AND EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO. You are going to ROCK IT on the We Day tour this year 🙂
Hi Hannah:
It was so great to see you, your mom, dad and “Indigo” when I visited Hamilton last week-end and be together with everyone! What a fabulous evening planned on Sept. 20th with such a line-up of ‘Stars’, but you will be the biggest “Shining Star” on stage and perform as only you can! Wish I could be there to see you, but at least I got to see you ‘in person’ last week-end. Good luck Hannah in your future endeavours and achievements — I’m very proud and more than impressed knowing you’re my ‘Great’ Niece!! Love, “Auntie Helen”
Woooowww!!!! Hannah YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!! It was such a privilege to get to meet you at camp, and I know you will go very far. You are making such a positive change in our world. You go girl.
– rachel
Congratulations Hannah!!! May you continue to go & grow from strength to strength!!
Hi Hannah, sorry it took so long to comment here. First, congratulations on the amazing news! I am really proud of you and know how hard you worked to get to this point. Last year was my first We Day and it completely rocked my world. I have no doubt that you are going to be a superstar on that stage and can’t wait for the tour to come back to Ottawa this year! Keep on shining!