Thousands of students unite at WE Day UN to celebrate world-changing actions amidst United Nations General Assembly

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Sep 25, 2019, 07:00 ET

– WE Day UN will stream live at 9:45 a.m. EDT today at we.org/watchweday –
– WE Day UN footage and photos will be available at 4 p.m. EDT in the Electronic Press Kit –
– 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 and Walgreens –
– WE Day UN is held in partnership with UNAIDS, UN Global Compact, and UN Women –

NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - WE Day, an inspiring youth empowerment event and celebration of social good, returns to New York today to celebrate thousands of extraordinary youth and educators from across the Tri-State area for the third annual WE Day UN at Barclays Center. Taking place during the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), WE Day UN is held in partnership with UNAIDS, UN Global Compact and UN Women.

Students can't buy a ticket to WE Day—they earn their way by taking action on one local and one global cause that they are passionate about. WE Day is a celebration of these year-round acts of service. The event is free of charge to students and teachers across the U.S. thanks to the generous support of partners, led by Co-Title Sponsors The Allstate Foundation, Unilever and Walgreens. Together these changemakers will enjoy a day of unforgettable performances and motivational speeches with WE Charity co-founders Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger, alongside Monique Coleman, Emilio Estevez, Amber Heard, Jameela Jamil, Liza Koshy, Nick Kristof, KYLE, Ally Love, Aaron Philip, Sadie Sink, Alexandria Villaseñor, Isaiah Woods, YUNA and more, as well as special video appearances by Millie Bobby Brown and John Cena.

Speakers and performers at WE Day UN will energize the crowd through a day filled with powerful speeches, inspirational moments and empowering performances. A few must-see highlights include:

Activist and founder of I Weigh, Jameela Jamil, will join the WE Day UN stage to advocate against social media defining the society we live in today. She will encourage the audience to take back the power of their social channels and the negative impact it can have on our daily lives.

"I am so inspired by our youth fighting back and demanding to see the changes they know their generation deserves," said activist and founder of I Weigh, Jameela Jamil. "It is the responsibility of all of us not only to listen but to learn, to advocate and amplify their voices, to lift them up and do what we can in support. I am honored to be speaking to the many passionate young leaders at WE Day and believe that learning from each other and working together will be the fastest way to create meaningful and sustainable change."

14-year-old climate change activist and national/international Fridays for Future organizer, Alexandria Villaseñor, will speak about the importance of activism and how no action is too small on their journey towards change.

"Being here with thousands of young people at WE Day UN is so powerful," said Alexandria Villaseñor. "We are the generation that is not afraid to take on the challenge of leading a movement towards the change we want to see in the world. We know that we don't have to wait for adults to tell us to fight for that change; we just go for it. Everyone here today is proof of that."

The Bronx's own author, creator and model, Aaron Philip, will inspire the audience to find their voice, speak up for those who need it, and embrace a world that is inclusive for all.

"Being a part of a movement that gives youth the tools and the platform to amplify their voices and speak out against injustice is something I had to be a part of," said Aaron Philip. "Everyone at WE Day UN shares the hope of creating a space for all body types, races, or genders to not only be accepted but to be celebrated for who they truly are."

This academic year, WE joins forces with UNAIDS, UN Global Compact, and UN Women to incorporate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into more than 20,000 schools across the United States,

United Kingdom and Canada, promoting Goal #4 (Quality Education) through WE Schools, WE's service learning program. As the UN General Assembly brings together 195 countries to debate pressing world issues, WE Day UN will motivate the next generation of global leaders to achieve the SDGs including eliminating poverty, promoting gender equality, ensuring access to clean water and ending hunger. Together WE and the UN agencies believe that young people are powerful active agents for change.

"Changing the world is no small feat, and every student and teacher at WE Day UN has stepped up to the challenge of making an impact in their local communities and beyond," said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE Charity. "The energy of thousands of committed youth excited to make a difference is like nothing else in the world, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to honor and celebrate them today."

More than a one-day event, WE Day is connected to the free, yearlong service learning program WE Schools. Designed to enhance a school or community's existing social initiatives or spark new ones, WE Schools provides teachers with educational resources and action campaigns to encourage students to further their curricular learning and develop social and emotional skills to succeed beyond the classroom. In the 2018/2019 school year, over 960 school groups from the Tri-State area participated in WE Schools, creating innovative solutions to today's pressing issues and taking action in support of global and local causes including hunger, poverty, bullying, well-being, access to education and access to clean water in communities across the globe.

The WE Day inspiration continues beyond the live event through WE Day Connect, a free 90-minute interactive online event taking place on October 8, 2019.

WE Day is supported in the Tri-State area by co-chairs Ornella Barra, Co-Chief Operating Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance; Alan Jope, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever; Carolyn Everson, Vice President, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook and Dean Phillips, Congressman, Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District. WE Day is supported nationally by co-chairs Tom Wilson, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Allstate Corporation; Steve Robinson, Founder, Brewery X, and Officer, LAPD; Janet Crown, CEO/Founder, Burn 60 Studios and Jane Francisco, Editorial Director, Hearst Lifestyle Group.

About WE

WE Day is part of WE—a family of organizations that makes 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 Charity was founded by New York Times Bestselling authors Craig Kielburger and Marc Kielburger, in 1995, with a mission to fight child labor. WE has since grown and evolved to address the root cause of child labor - extreme poverty. In the past 24 years, WE's programs have empowered over 1 million people with clean water, built 1,500 schools and schoolrooms overseas, and empowered more than 200,000 children with access to education.

WE enables youth and families to better the world—supporting 7,200+ 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.

WE's headquarters is based in downtown Toronto at the WE Global Learning Center, a service and social innovation accelerator for young people, leading them to become the next generation of leaders and towards a brighter future.

Join the movement today at WE.org.