We Day's blend of activism, corporate messages prompts criticism from teacher
'It was at times challenging to tell where We Day started and where the corporate messaging began'
We Day promises to offer an "inspiring" and "powerful" experience for young people, but one teacher is concerned about the way the event blends corporate advertising with non-profit work and pushes children to publicise We Day messages on their personal social networks.
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We Day brings youth empowerment message to MTS Centre Nov. 16
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We Day inspires B.C. kids to dream big and give back in an even bigger way
Created by the non-profit organization Free the Children, We Day is an annual concert and speaker series that takes place in cities across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. The purpose is to educate youth about world's most pressing issues and how they can be part of the solution, a We Day news release says.
We Day takes place in Winnipeg on Monday at the MTS Centre, with 16,000 students and educators expected to attend. This year's co-title sponsors are RBC and TELUS; other corporate sponsors include David's Tea, Ford, The Keg and WestJet.
"Through the day during We Day, different corporate sponsors are highlighted and showcased but in a way that blends it fairly seamlessly with the programming," said B.C. teacher Alison Atkinson.
For example, a movie theatre chain highlighted an outing they provide to seniors, and a mining company spoke about their international development work overseas, she said.
"I felt that for such a young audience, it could be confusing, because it was at times challenging to tell where We Day started and where the corporate messaging began," said Atkinson.
Kids pressured to tweet: teacher
"During the WE Day I attended, kids were repeatedly prodded to be on Facebook, to be on Twitter … basically in order to get word out there as much as possible to their friends and to their classmates."
"I did have students that I was with say that they didn't like that they were being asked to use their social network in that way," she added. Kids were also asked to download We Day's app, We365, which tracks volunteer hours.
Children were told one child in a developing country would be vaccinated for every download, said Atkinson.
"Part of what I find that I'm critical of with We Day and with much of the work of Free the Children generally, is that it operates on an us-and-them kind of model," she said.
"It doesn't ask us to ask questions, 'Why aren't these kids getting vaccinated anyway?'"
Free the Children responds to criticisms
Atkinson raises some "interesting points," said Gerry Connelly, a Free the Children board member and former director of education with the Toronto District School Board.
"I've always found it to be such an inspirational day."
When asked what is done to distinguish corporate messaging from the We Day educational content, Connelly said, "I would not be on the board of Free the Children if I felt that there was intrusion [of advertising] in the schools."
It's important for young people to understand the role business can play in international development, added Connelly.
"[We Day organizers] very carefully vet the corporate sponsors for their commitment to the kinds of values that Free the Children and We Day organizers have," she said.
The responsibility is with teachers to ask their students about what's being discussed at We Day, Connelly said.
"We Days should challenge us to ask questions, and obviously the questions that were raised were good questions [by Atkinson], and I would hope that teachers would go back to the classrooms and ask those questions … about what's happening in the world."