Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is the President of Liberia and she is the first female leader of a country in Africa. When she became President in 2006, Liberia had been in a Civil War. That means that there was fighting between different groups within the country. There were two Civil Wars that all together lasted 14 years that were filled of violence and destruction. It was a difficult time when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became President. This made her role as President more difficult and more important. In 2010 she was on a list of the 10 Best Leaders in the World (Newsweek) and also Top 10 Female Leaders (Time). She also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. I truly believe that her speech at We Day with be so powerful and inspiring. She sees challenges as opportunities to go even higher! As the first female President of Liberia and all of Africa, she empowers girls not only in Africa but all around the world, to see that they can be whoever they want. She believes that girls can grow to be strong and independent women. Her message to girls is to take in leadership roles, stand out in the crowd and be the best you can be. I am so excited for her to take the We Day stage in Toronto and share her story with thousands of motivated youth. I will definitely be listening.
Col. Chris Hadfield
Chris Hadfield recently returned from space. Now, how many people get to say that? No one I’ve ever met! He is one of three Canadian Astronauts and was the first Canadian to walk in space. There are so many things that he did first. He tweeted from space – a lot. Like as much as my dad (and that’s a lot of tweets). He took photos, thousands of them so that we could see what he was seeing. He communicated so much with student and he even made videos to answer their questions. He made videos to show us how he sleeps, exercises, brushes his teeth, makes sandwiches, cleans up messes and so much more. It’s like when he was in space he took us with him, he shared all his stories and shared things about what he was doing and seeing space. He shared in a way we could understand and in a fun way. The videos he posted on Youtube made us want to learn from and explore with him. He recorded the first song recorded in space and even performed a song that him and Ed Robertson from Barenaked Ladies wrote a song called I.S.S (International Space Station). This performance was shown on TV with Chris Hadfield in space and Ed Robertson on stage with a choir. The video is below. Amazing, right? He grew up in Ontario where he watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. That was his spark. He wanted to be an astronaut and he worked really hard and he did it. Dream big. To infinity and beyond!
Martin Luther King III
50 years ago, in August 1963 Martin Luther King. Jr read his “I Have A Dream” speech – “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.” His eldest son Martin Luther King III is now a Human Rights advocate and community activist. He was only 10 years old when Martin Luther King. Jr was assassinated. We Day is all about finding your dream – your spark. That issue that makes you take action every single day! Martin Luther King III believes in the power and strength of community. He will be speaking to thousands of youth who believe this, too. He is most well known for being a son – but he is also a father for a 5 year old daughter and wants to make the world a better place for her. He uses his voice to bring his messages of compassion, equality and social justice. I’m sure that his speech is going to be inspiring, motivating and powerful and will make an impact about why it is important to see ourselves as a community.
Hi Hannah, I didn’t know where to put this, so I’ll put it here. I just wanted to let you know that I think you are an amazing human being and by inspiring other children to want to make a difference, you are making this world a better place for all of to live. As one of my favourite bands, Guster, once said “Be string, Be Brave, It’ll Be Okay”. I know you are going to rock this show and the many after that and I am proud of everything you are doing! Go get ’em! ~ Chris.
Thank you Chris! You always write amazing things wherever you go! I totally hope to see you soon!
Thank you Chris! Your advice really helped me and you inspire me to keep going. You have done so much and you are teaching your kids so much and you totally rocked the show at Blissdom! I keep checking out your blog so keep going!