- WE Day streams live today around the world at 9:30 a.m. ET at WE.org/watchweday -
- Photos available on the WE Day UN Electronic Press Kit by 4 p.m. ET -
- WE Day UN is a partner of UNAIDS, UN Global Compact, and UN Women -
- WE Day UN is free to thousands of students in the Tri-state area thanks to partners led by
Co-Title Sponsors The Allstate Foundation, Unilever, Walgreens and Microsoft -
NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, thousands of youth from across the Tri-state area will come together at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City for WE Day, a youth empowerment event that celebrates everyday heroes and proves no one is too young to change the world. The inaugural WE Day UN is a partner of UNAIDS, UN Global Compact, and UN Women to foster youth engagement. With the support of the Government of Canada, WE Day UN takes place during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, with the aim to inspire youth to challenge and encourage current world leaders to live up to their commitments.
Hosted by Jordan Fisher and Skai Jackson, WE Day UN will feature inspiring speeches and performances by Chelsea Clinton, Whoopi Goldberg, Laurie Hernandez, Lennon & Maisy, Jessie Reyez, Margaret Trudeau, Grace VanderWaal, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York and more, alongside UN officials and world leaders, including Her Excellency President Ellen Sirleaf, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Mary Robinson and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. The full list of WE Day UN speakers and performers is available on the WE Day Electronic Press Kit.
WE Day UN, made possible by Co-Title Sponsors The Allstate Foundation, Unilever, Walgreens and Microsoft, pairs a star-studded lineup with international activists and WE co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger. Together, they are bringing the greatest classroom in the world to New York City to celebrate the remarkable volunteer efforts of students from the 200 Tri-state schools in attendance—and the thousands more from over 14,500 schools around the globe watching online via live webcast.
“We face major challenges globally, from climate change, to making gender equality a reality, to building a world where everyone’s human rights are respected. Young people have deep compassion and bold ideas about how to tackle these challenges. When we amplify their voices, and focus on the issues that matter to them, we all benefit,” said Prime Minister Trudeau. “I’m honoured to take part in the inaugural WE Day UN and remind students that no matter their age, or where they’re from, they have the power to create change—right now.”
Speakers and performers at WE Day UN will energize the crowd through a full day of empowering educational speeches, inspirational moments and electrifying performances. A few must-see highlights include:
- Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, addresses the WE Day UN crowd, sharing words of unity and encouragement with thousands of youth in attendance
- Vice Chair of the Clinton Foundation, mother, advocate, author and teacher, Chelsea Clinton, talks about her commitment to tackle issues surrounding public health and creating greater opportunities for women, families and children
- Award winning actor, performer and comedian, and human rights advocate, Whoopi Goldberg, shares her humanitarian experiences and her thoughts on current world events
- Artist, Jesse Reyez, closes the show with a performance of her two songs, “Figures” and “Great One”
This academic year, WE joins forces with UNAIDS, UN Global Compact, and UN Women to incorporate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into more than 14,500 schools across the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada through WE Schools, WE’s domestic educational program. As the UNGA amasses 193 world leaders to present their outlooks about pressing world issues, WE Day UN will continue these instrumental conversations to motivate the next generation of world leaders. Together WE and the UN agencies believe that young people are powerful and active agents for change, and to meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is imperative that organizations engage youth, providing tools and resources that support them in their actions to create global change.
“Every year, we’re honoured to celebrate with over 200,000 inspired young change-makers from Generation WE, who earn their tickets to WE Day by taking action on local and global issues as a part of the WE Schools program,” said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE. “WE Day UN unites our hard-working youth as they experience a day of inspiration and recognize their achievements in making doing good, doable.”
“This generation, generation WE, is the one that will disrupt the status quo and shake the foundations of patriarchy, so that no one is left behind. I call on all of you today to take action to stop violence against women, to refuse to be a bystander, to lead by example in your families and communities by treating women and men equally, and by sharing family and household responsibilities equally,” said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. “I call on all of you to find your voice, and use it to challenge stereotypes, inequalities and injustices, so that together we make Planet 50-50 possible.”
More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to the free, yearlong educational program WE Schools. Providing schools and community groups with curriculum, educational resources and action campaigns, the program is designed to enhance a school’s existing social initiatives or spark new ones. WE Schools encourages students to further their curricular learning and develop life skills for success beyond the classroom. In a recent survey of American educators with student participants in WE Schools, it was found that 90.6 percent felt their students had developed stronger communication skills, 90.8 percent said students established a greater connection to their local and global community, and 88.9 percent believed students had greater enthusiasm for learning as a direct result of WE Schools’ programming.
Students can’t buy a ticket to WE Day—youth earn their way by the actions they take on local and global causes of their choice. WE Day—the world’s largest youth empowerment event—is free of charge to students and educators, thanks to the generous support of partners led by Co-Title Sponsors The Allstate Foundation, Unilever, Walgreens and Microsoft.
WE Day is supported in the Tri-state area by Co-Chairs Carolyn Everson, Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook; Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever; Ornella Barra, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance; and Lynne Doughtie, Chairman and CEO, KPMG US. Nationally, WE Day is supported by Co-Chairs Tom Wilson, Chairman and CEO, Allstate; Jane Francisco, Editorial Director of Hearst Lifestyle Group and Editor in Chief of Good Housekeeping; Steve Robinson, Zilliance and Officer LAPD/Hawthorne PD & Janet Crown, Founder/CEO, Burn 60 Studios, Entrepreneur; Brett Tollman, CEO, The Travel Corporation, and Mike Dobbins Head, Strategy and Corporate Development, RBC.
Anyone can find their place within the WE movement and commit to making a change in the world. Get inspired and learn more about the WE movement by watching this year’s WE Day Special available to view on Hulu. The WE Day Special is brought to you by Title Sponsor The Allstate Foundation, alongside Presenting Partners Unilever, Walgreens and Microsoft, and Supporting Partner KPMG. The WE Day Special features a star-studded lineup of inspiring young Americans, chart-topping performers and iconic celebrities including Alessia Cara and STOMP, James Franco, Josh Gad, Tyrese Gibson, Evan Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Alicia Keys, DJ Khaled, Demi Lovato, The Muppets, Seth Rogen, Hannah Simone, Lilly Singh, Oprah Winfrey and more.
Stay connected on the latest news and updates on WE Day:
#WEday | @WEmovement | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Media Center
About WE
WE Day is part of WE, a family of organizations making doing good, doable. WE is made up of WE Charity, empowering domestic and international change, ME to WE, a social enterprise that creates socially conscious products and experiences to help support the charity, and WE Day, filling stadiums around the world with the greatest celebration of social good. WE enables youth and families to better the world – supporting 2,500+ local and global causes by volunteering millions of hours of service, shopping daily with an impact, and raising millions of dollars that directly benefit their local communities and the world. Globally, our teams in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have provided more than 1 million people with clean water, built 1,000 schools and schoolrooms overseas, and empowered more than 200,000 children with access to education. WE was founded more than 20 years ago by social entrepreneurs, brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger. Join the movement today at WE.org.
About The Allstate Foundation
www.allstatefoundation.org/goodstartsyoung
About Unilever
www.unileverusa.com/weday
About Walgreens
www.walgreens.com
About Microsoft
www.microsoft.com
For more information on WE Day or to request an interview, please contact:
Kendra Thompson
Associate Director, Public Relations, WE Day
+1-647-607-9564
kendra.thompson@we.org
Sunshine Sachs
weday@sunshinesachs.com